


Blood Royal

by Aspidities



Series: Blood Royal [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alpha Korra, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, BDSM, Breeding, Collars, Come Inflation, Daddy Issues, Dubious Consent, Equalist Asami Sato, Equalist Au, F/F, Impregnation, Knotting, Marriage Contract, Omega Asami, Omegaverse, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Scent Marking, Smut, dub con, omegaverse AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-05 10:22:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 89,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12188124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aspidities/pseuds/Aspidities
Summary: An Equalist Asami/ Omegaverse AU seriesWith the birth of the first Alpha Avatar in three centuries, expectations in the rapidly-declining world of benders are high for her to find the most suitable omega, a 'blood royal', capable of bearing powerful bending heirs. But when that particular omega is the haughty daughter of a wealthy Equalist sympathizer, tensions will run high as Korra wars between suspicion and seduction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey gentle readers! Some of you have asked (quite fervently) for more Omegaverse stuff from me, and I am seriously happy to provide. Omegaverse AUs are some of my favorite fics, and I was kicking around an idea for a while. I've been watching a lot of season one lately to think about an Equalist Asami AU, and, well, the two ideas kind of combined into this! Hope you enjoy, and as always, please let me know in the comments.

 

Tenzin displayed the map on the table yet again, as if it would tell him any new information. “We’ve checked all the benders in Republic City. Every single omega. And yet the records still show that a blood royal was born here, in Republic City, over twenty years ago, and hasn’t left or been mated.”

Korra sighed, disinterested. “Tenzin, we should just give up on it. We already have the seven strongest bending omegas in the whole city signed up as marriage prospects, we should just go with that.” She was pushing a small pen around via a tiny whirlwind on the desk, scribbling her name into the expensive fine oak. Tenzin watched with a frown but said nothing: this was just one example typical of her indulged behavior.

“We can’t just ‘go with that’ Korra.” The master airbender explained for the tenth time that day, feeling himself grow more grey hairs by the minute. He pinched the bridge of his nose; his pupil could sometimes show promise, but mostly the overwhelming arrogance of having been essentially worshipped from the time she was a pup revealed her nature as impulsive, entitled, and unapologetic. In other words: the polar opposite of his father, the previous incarnation.

When the last Avatar had died, the world collectively held its breath. Aang’s legacy of peace was tenuous, built on strands of relationships now aging and dying themselves, so there was little binding the ties of nations together. And when fewer and fewer benders were born each year, to less and less fertile omegas, the remaining members of the White Lotus gathered together and made a solemn vow; to guard not only the Avatar, but the lineage of bending itself, so that the world could remain in balance.

And so, when Korra presented as not only a strong, nearly-fully-formed Avatar at the age of four, but also a virile, confident alpha, the world rejoiced once more, and the festivals were countless. An Alpha Avatar hadn’t been seen since Kyoshi, and the tradition followed that the fertility of the Alpha of All Alphas would bless the world. It was assumed that with Korra, bending would gradually return to the lines of families who had previously held it, and the scarcity of omegas would decrease, rising back to normal numbers.

It was quite a lot to place on the shoulders of a four year-old.

Understandably, the White Lotus was deeply conscious of the role Korra had yet to play, and lavished her with attention, coddling her environment to meet her specific wants, and, as she aged, surrounding her with pliant, available omegas of all bending types. Which meant, of course, that as part of her rebellion against the smothering bonds of the White Lotus’ protection, Korra hardly paid them any attention at all, much to everyone’s despair, preferring the company of a beta male boyfriend for some time until that relationship fizzled; likely due to the fact that it was formed on a rebellious pretext and not largely based in real emotions. Still, with Korra now single, the efforts had renewed.

Lately, as the Avatar neared the end of her airbending training and had matured into a young adult, focus had shifted amongst her guardians, from allowing Korra to select her desired mate from an attentive, devoted group of omegas referred to as ‘marriage prospects’, to matching the young Avatar up, possibly against her will if necessary, to ensure the future of the bending world. Many who had raised her (including Tenzin, the airbender who now took full control of her guardianship as she came to her maturity in his care) felt she would never concede to a forced match, so the effort was made to involve her in the hunt for an exceedingly fertile omega in the hopes that she would find the process stimulating and encourage her to…do her duty. The ideal candidate was a genetic rarity, often referred to in these days of drought as a ‘blood royal’, for their high status as desired mates. A ‘blood royal’ omega was usually able to be identified at birth, and higher echelons of society quickly snapped them up with marriage contracts, a fact which had been eternally frustrating in the White Lotus’ efforts in other cities to find an eligible omega, but here, in Republic City, they stood a fighting chance.

That is, if the Avatar would show the slightest amount of interest.

“You know as well as I that an omega with blood royal lineage is the most desirable marriage candidate for the Avatar, let alone any alpha. Korra, I _wish_ you would pay attention when I’m talking to you.”

The Avatar sighed heartily, looking very put upon. “I know Tenzin. ‘Blood royal’ lineage means the omega will be more fertile, and because I’m the first alpha Avatar in three hundred years…”

“It’s very important for you to sire at least one pup.” Tenzin supplied. “Not only that, but, as we have discussed many times, this particular variant of omega has a heritable link to strong bending abilities. As you know, my mother, Katara, was a blood royal, and my lineage is responsible for bringing airbending back into the United Republic.” He fluffed with pride, ever so-slightly, before knitting his eyebrows back together to regard Korra with a more serious note. “And it is the _entire_ reason we moved you from the more secure location in the Southern Water Tribe here to the extremely-exposed-and-quite-frankly-indefensible location in Republic City-“

“It’s where your family lives.” Korra pointed out, bored. She was already looking out the windows. Again. One could only hope she wouldn’t decide to start cracking the glass with hot and cold water, as she did the last time she got bored and cooped up.

“ _My family is not the Avatar_.” Tenzin had to stop himself from shouting. “Air Temple Island is a lovely place for children, but it is hardly the best location for the world’s only master of all elements, especially since bending birth rates are on the steepest decline they’ve been in decades and Equalists are determined to see bending die out all together.”

Korra huffed, and she rolled her eyes, but further protest was not forthcoming, and for that he was grateful. 

“Now,” Tenzin drew his finger on the map to circle Future Industries, a complex of buildings and towers that dominated much of Republic City’s skyline. “The one remaining possibility is the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, the last unmated omega in the city, and heir to the Future Industries fortune." He tapped the name, considering. "I’m told the girl is considered the finest beauty of her age.” He inclined his brows at Korra, hopefully.

“How can she be? She’s an unmated omega in the biggest city in the world, in a time when omegas are scarcer than spirits.” Korra snorted, unconcerned. She saw beautiful women every day, of course, and most of them were naked or in various stages of undress, blushing at the mere sight of the Avatar, so one could forgive her for not being overly enthused with physical aesthetic. Her ego was definitely not helping, however.

“And besides,” she continued, dribbling a small ball of fire on her knuckles like a toy. “Isn’t she a non-bender? I thought we checked already.”

“Non-benders can still carry bending pups, it’s just not quite as common. If the Sato girl is a blood royal, your genetics would be possibly be enough to balance the scales.” Tenzin reached out with a quick blast of wind to both extinguish the fire and rap Korra’s knuckles. “May I remind you that, as you said it yourself so bluntly just a second ago: ‘omegas are scarcer than spirits’? Beggars may not be choosers, Korra.”

She stiffened, affronted, and snarled. “ _I’m_ not begging for any omega to take my knot. It’s you and the White Lotus who are so concerned about my lineage that you won’t even let me be a real Avatar. I don’t even _want_ pups, let alone some non-bender’s brats.” Crossing her arms like a spoilt teenager, instead of the master of all elements that she aspired to be, Korra huffed dramatically, blowing a hair away from her face.

“I know you don’t,” Tenzin replied, not unkindly. The responsibility was a heavy burden, and he knew it all too well: even with four airbending pups of his own, the fate of the Air Nation would always be on his shoulders. “But the fact of the matter is: in order to let you ‘be a real Avatar’ and leave the protection of the White Lotus, we need to be sure that you have established a strong bending lineage. Otherwise, if something were to happen to you….Spirits, Korra, it took long enough for you to be born after my father died, and with bending birth rates what they are, it could be decades or not at all that another Avatar is born. You want your freedom to do as you please, and I understand that, but you must ensure that the world remains in balance, and to do that, you need to bring the benders back to the world.”

There was no verbal response, but the airbender knew he’d gotten through to her. One minute her shoulders were hunched and the next she had straightened, looking renewed. That was one of the nicer things about Korra: she was quick to rise to a challenge, if it meant proving herself as the Avatar. “Well, let’s go meet her then,” Korra proposed, confidently. “I’m sure Mr. Sato has a steep bride price in mind, but that’s fine.”

“ _Ahem_.” Tenzin cleared his throat, looking worriedly at the list of accounts under the map. “It’s not fine, actually. Mr. Sato is the wealthiest man in Republic City, if not the entire surrounding Earth Kingdom territories, and his only daughter, an omega, no less, will undoubtably be a prize he should be supremely unwilling to part with. It will require careful negotiation and strategy to get him to agree to-“

But the Avatar was gone.

Tenzin gaped at the place where she’d been only seconds before, and then at the shoji doors, which were still ajar and rattling, slightly, as if a hurricane wind had passed. “ _Korra_!” He yelled after her, but it was useless.

The young alpha had already reached the courtyard where Naga, her polar bear-dog was kept. She greeted her exuberant pet/best friend, shoving a wet tongue aside as she scrabbled for her saddle. Dodging a wagging, delighted tail, she slung the saddle over her companion’s back, hopping aboard a moment later. The great white beast howled and set off at a blistering pace, thundering past a retinue of unpleasantly-shocked-looking White Lotus guards. There were some shouts and waving, but Korra merely ducked her head and urged Naga on, down the temple steps, and across the training fields. They pulled up to the docks just in time to skid aboard the ferry just as it began to chug away.

“Good girl, Naga!” Korra praised, as the ferry passengers and conductor regarded her in shock and alarm at her sudden arrival. “Nothing to worry about folks,” she called out, jauntily. “Just the Avatar and her companion, going into the city.” _For the first time, alone_ , she added in her head, feeling triumphant as the nearest passengers edged farther away from Naga’s panting, drooling shadow.

Arriving on the city docks, she coaxed Naga past a crowd of gawking onlookers, galloping down the street as they headed for the Future Industries complex. She had to dodge several Satomobiles, which was annoying and checked her speed, but she was too exhilarated by the prospect of being out in the city, without a guard, for the first time ever. The sights, the sounds, the smells….Air Temple island was a desert compared to this cacophony of lights and music, laughter and angry shouts, mostly directed at her.

She had almost completely forgotten the reason for her headlong dash in the first place: she was just too dazed with the fact that her escape had worked, and now here she was, free of her pen. Why even go to Future Industries at all? She could just keep going with Naga forever, see all that the city had to offer and-

 _Wham_!

A small vehicle slammed into Naga’s side, sending the animal careening to the ground with a yelp, and Korra went tumbling after her to land on her rear with a sharp gasp. Their collision had not knocked over the metal vehicle, however, and the rider was unharmed, standing astride their contraption in the street. The rider was wearing a tight cap and goggles, and the vehicle appeared to be a stylish little moped, the latest in personal transport. Korra had only seen one before in a pro-bending magazine Bolin had left at the training grounds. Still, the pain in her bottom and the complaining grumble from Naga had her leaping to her feet in a fury, determined to see the owner of the ‘ped in a world of pain, novelty or no novelty. “Hey!” She snarled out.

“Oh I am _so_ sorry!” The rider had run to reach her and was kneeling beside Naga’s head, looking at the polar bear dog for injury as best they could while Naga tried to deliver a few tongue licks. “I didn’t see you!”

“How could you not see me?!” Korra exclaimed, still heated. “I was riding a giant white p-“

But the next words died with a whimper. The rider stood, removed the helmet and goggles in one smooth motion, tossing out a glossy black mane, and the action revealed the owner of the cycle as the most unspeakably attractive woman Korra had ever even seen, even in her privileged role as the Alpha of all Alphas. Several seconds slowed into an eternity as her eyes bulged comically and her breath became short.

A thicket of dark lashes framed emerald eyes, with a purple-grey shadow to their lids. High, aristocratic cheekbones with an embarrassed flush, like rose petals on the surface of a bowl of cream, only making them more lovely. Lips as dark as heart’s blood, drawn in concern. A gloriously long arch of neck: pale as milk and twice as drinkable, and even more so as it was unblemished by a scar. Unmarked.

Scent hit her: waves of a smokey, orange blossom-in-the-summer-night smell. A bonfire, stolen-kisses-amid-sparks smell. A smell of grease and acidic paint and almond-y oil, and, underneath it all, pounding like a heartbeat, was the unmistakable, irresistible aroma of something more, something that begged to be taken, claimed, filled. An omega, but not just any omega. An omega whose scent was more lovely, more luscious, and more heady than any she had yet encountered. There was something incredible about this woman, something that called to her even more than her obvious beauty. Her scent was a wildfire that had taken the dry tinder of Korra’s confident, arrogant tongue and set it ablaze.

The alpha’s nostrils flared, and words became impossible to manage, tripping out in fits and starts. “I was…I- _wow_. Ahem.”

The object of her sudden lust didn’t seem to notice the obvious change in her demeanor… or, perhaps more likely, she did and was too politely well-bred to remark upon it, which was thankful. She drew closer and brushed Korra’s body down, sending shockwaves of arousal through the young alpha.

“Are you okay?” The ravishing omega asked in an anguished tone. “Did I hurt you? Oh I’m _such_ an _idiot_!”

Korra managed to jerk herself from a kind of hazy stupor staring at the omega’s unmarked neck, and felt herself producing arousal pheromones without the ability to stop it. She clenched her teeth and pretended to dust her pant legs off, hoping to wave away the obvious scent, as well as her stiffening clit, which was even now threatening to extend further and tent her pants. “Ah, no, don’t worry. It’s-it’s okay, my teammates hit me harder than that every day in practice.”

Green eyes widened and the stranger looked her up and down, as if assessing something. “Wait, I recognize you! You’re the Avatar! I’ve seen you in the newspaper...and you play for the Fire Ferrets, too!”

Korra preened. Now this was familiar territory. She could handle any omega who fawned over the Avatar, but her face fell flat when she realized this girl wasn’t leaning in to catch more of her scent, wasn’t showing submissive behavior that she was used to. The lack of readable emotion beyond friendliness and polite embarrassment in her eyes was unnerving, and it was throwing the young Avatar off guard. “Yeah, that’s me.” She offered, still blinking.

“Oh I’m so embarrassed,” The omega put a gloved hand to her face but aside from the gesture, and the pretty blush that briefly colored her cheeks, she didn’t appear overly stricken. Korra on the other hand was practically panting every time the strange girl looked at her, which she did now, offering her hand. “My name’s Asami.”

 _Asami_. She stared down at the supple skin covering her fingers until she remembered she was supposed to shake them. The name had whispered into her ear like a promise and she almost wilted. _Keep it together, damn it. You’re not a pup anymore_. The straining in her pants threatened to prove otherwise.

“Let me make this up to you somehow.” Asami was saying, smoothly. “Um…how about I take you to dinner? Tomorrow night, eight o’clock, Kuang’s Cuisine.” She grinned with a gorgeous twist of her lips, and turned on one heel, as if she considered the matter settled.

Korra sputtered, her mind racing. _Is she asking me on a date? To the most expensive restaurant in town? Holy shit, I was not prepared for this. Say something, say something, stupid!_ “Uh Kuang’s? I may be the Avatar but I don’t really have any clothes nice enough for a place that classy.” She gave a wry chuckle, indicating her mud-splattered outfit. “More of a casual kinda girl.”

Asami had the grace to laugh. “I like it, actually.” Her smile tugged at everything in Korra, demanding that those lips be kissed and kissed properly until they swelled and puffed. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of that. All you need to do is show up.”

She walked to her moped and retrieved her helmet and goggles, resettling them on her head. “So, it’s a date?” The omega asked, her voice a lilting suggestion that Korra was helpless to resist.

_Fuck yes, are you kidding me- Don’t sound too eager, don’t sound too eager, you’re an alpha, damn it, act like it._

“Uh yeah, I guess so. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Korra tried for smooth, but it was a half-stuttered attempt that even one of Tenzin’s children could have seen right through. A dumb smile was spreading heedless across her face.

“See you then.” Asami replied over her shoulder with a plum-colored wink, and she kicked the bike into gear, roaring off down the street. Korra stared after her, lovestruck. She had to blink several times before the street and its other citizens returned to her eyes, for all she could see was Asami, and all she could hear were the words ‘It’s a date’. A hazy spell settled over her eyes and she grinned wider than Naga.

Of course, then the sirens had erupted everywhere.

The metal-bending police had shown up looking for her, and the rest had been a chaotic confusion through the city streets as she and Naga tried to dodge them, without success. Lin Beifong had been furious with her for escaping and causing so many wrecks and pile-ups. She cringed under the other alpha’s snarls but she lowered her head in deference all the same, glaring at the table in front of her. She didn’t like it, but Lin was top dog in Republic City, and she knew better than to challenge her, howl as her own alpha might. The chief paced in front of her in the cell for a few hours, blistering her with an acid tongue about pedestrian traffic and disrupting the peace, so much so that the young Avatar felt thoroughly chastened by the time Tenzin arrived on a gust of air, spreading his hands to diffuse the tension as the beta promised Lin he would safely see her back to the island and keep her there.

Chafing under Tenzin’s guiding hand on her shoulder, she stuck an impudent glance back the chief, who only curled a lip at her insolence. It seemed the Beifong woman was done hectoring her for now, but it was a narrow escape. Tenzin sighed when he caught the gesture, deep and long-suffering.

“Korra, I’ve talked to you before about this kind of-“

“Tenzin, I know you’re upset with me for going off without a guard.” Korra interrupted, impatiently. “And I know I caused a lot of traffic jams, but I’m going to go back into the city again. Tomorrow night. I have a date.”

“A date.” The airbending master repeated, nonplussed.

“Yes, a date.” Korra’s face softened as she beamed. “With the prettiest omega I’ve ever seen. Her name’s Asami.”

Tenzin’s face crinkled. “How did you manage to get a….well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I don’t think it’s best that you leave the island for a while, Korra, I gave Lin my word. There are plenty of other lovely omegas waiting for you back home, should you so choose, and it’s much safer there than to allow you unescorted in the City.” He turned, clearly expecting her to follow, but she dug in her heels.

“Not like this one. I’m _going_ on that date, Tenzin.” She folded her arms.

He didn’t turn around, but his chin inclined back towards her slightly. “You’re interested in her? You haven’t shown a hint of interest in anyone since-“

“Since Mako, I know.” The name of her ex made her grin bitterly, but she continued. “I know I don’t generally go for the marriage prospect omegas, mostly because you’ve been lecturing me constantly about my duty as the Avatar and to benders, but this is different. She’s different. I want to….um... court her.”

At the mention of the old-fashioned term, she blushed, hesitantly, but the words made Tenzin’s shoulders loosen, and he turned back to face her, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his long, angular face.

“Well, that is new.” He studied her. “Are you sure it isn’t that she’s in heat or something of that nature?”

Korra’s flush deepened to an embarrassing red. “Tenzin, for crying out loud...no, it’s not a heat thing.” She kicked her foot harshly against the marble of the courthouse steps, feeling stung for having ever said anything.

“It would be okay if it was,” Tenzin persisted, albeit gently. “Korra, I may be old in your eyes but I do understand biological urge-“

“Okay no, nope, we are not discussing urges.” Korra waved her hands savagely, backing away down the steps. “We are not doing that. All I’m saying is, I’m going back in to the city to meet Asami tomorrow, and I’m not taking a guard, because that would be weird. And I don’t want her to think I’m weird. That’s it. End of talk.”

She stalked away, down the steps and past Tenzin, who smiled bemusedly after her, seeing a younger version of himself in the seething young Avatar’s obvious discomfiture. This side of his pupil was new, and surprisingly endearing. He found himself inwardly already acquiescing to her demands, but decided to put up a good bluster for a few hours anyway. No harm in making sure the Avatar knew this was a favor.

______________________________________

  
Kuang’s Cuisine was situated in Republic City’s classy entertainment district, close to the golden dome of the pro-bending arena, and it was absolutely decked out in opulence, resplendent against the setting sun as she arrived for her date, a few minutes early.

Korra felt like a bug on the wall in her Water Tribe gear, conscious of several dozen eyes upon her as she was escorted to the changing room by an obsequious beta manservant. Once inside, he briskly clapped his hands and two female betas rushed out to help the Avatar change, their pleasant faces deferentially neutral. They helped her into a sleek bespoke suit, cut with a flatteringly feminine vest in Southern tribal colors, and finished with a fetching blazer. She looked, she reflected as she examined herself in the mirror, dashing, if not a bit unrefined with her hairstyle. As if reading her mind, the manservant returned and made to fix her hair, clucking a bit, but she grabbed his wrist with a punishing grip and growled, releasing her alpha scent to make him quail.

“The hair _stays_.” She cautioned, and he nodded quickly, swallowing.

She declined an escort, wanting to appear smooth, and negotiated her way through the restraint by smell, following the irresistible trail of omega. Arriving at the table, she found Asami already seated, and she looked up from her menu, smiling with those rich red lips. She was dressed in a blood-colored gown with an alluring keyhole right at her breasts, and her hair was done up with a golden clasp that only brought the shine of her black mane out to sparkle against it. Korra’s clit jumped and she forced a grin that she hoped wasn’t as wolfish as she felt.

“You look very snazzy.” Asami complimented, eyes running up and down Korra’s be-suited form. There was an arch to her brow that was unconsciously seductive.

“You look _gorgeous_.” Korra breathed, unable to be subtle, and she was heartened by Asami’s gentle laugh. “Sorry, I thought I was early; were you waiting long?”

“Not at all.” Asami’s smile was coy. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I tend to travel kinda fast.”

“Yeah I remember.” Korra grinned, feeling gradually more confident. She faked a grimace. “My rear end is still pretty sore about it.”

“Ooof.” Asami’s playful expression was only making her prettier in the gauzy light of the lanterns. “To say nothing of your ego, I’m sure.”

“Oh no, the ego’s intact.” She felt her lips tug upwards at the corners. The flirting was a new feeling, as if she was on equal footing for once, instead of commanding and directing the entire encounter. She reveled in it. “Getting bigger by the minute to be seen with such a pretty omega.” She teased back, and Asami’s eyes shot to her crotch. _Oh damn it._ She flushed, realizing too late the second meaning behind her words. “Uhm, ah…my ego that is.” She coughed. “Should we order?”

“Sure.” Asami’s smile was unreadable. “I’ve taken the liberty of picking out a few appetizers and some complimenting sake, but you should pick out your main course. I recommend the prawn soup.” She beckoned over a hovering waiter with a slender finger. After they’d each selected their entrees, the server departed, bowing deeply as he did so.

“Very good, Miss Sato.”

“Wait…” Korra’s mind reeled, trying to place the name. When she did, her whole body straightened and she gasped, apprehensive. “Not, Sato as in _Hiroshi_ Sato? Inventor of the Satomobile? Are you related to him?”

“Yeah, he’s my father.” Asami’s eyes glittered as she sipped from her sake cup. _And that would make you the blood royal_ , Korra’s mind finished, racing as her clothes became suddenly uncomfortably hot. She pulled at the neck of her shirt, loosening it, and gulped. _Spirits, Asami is the blood royal. Won’t Tenzin be pleased?_ Regardless of her thoughts of her mentor, her cock was swelling now, thinking of the deeply sexual, entirely-breeding-related implications of the woman sitting next to her in the booth, and she crossed her legs, trying to will it down.

“Are you okay?” Asami questioned, looking at her in askance. “You kind of went all white just now.”

“You’re Hiroshi Sato’s daughter.” Korra processed slowly, feeling like her mind was stuck in molasses.

“Yes…?” The omega’s head cocked to one side, and a mild frown appeared on her features. “Is there some kind of a problem with that?”

“No!” Korra hastened to say, waving her hands to try and dispel the notion. “It’s just…uh…I didn’t think I’d ever meet the daughter of a captain of industry.” She joked lamely, feeling stupid, and clenched against a pulse in her crotch as her cock threatened again.

“You’re the last person I’d assume would be intimidated by my father.” Her date was looking bemused, running her finger around the edge of her drink. “After all, the Avatar is definitely a bigger name here in the city than a wealthy industrialist.”

Korra highly doubted that. Non-bender though he was, Sato’s inventions dominated every street, home and business in Republic City, and the man was considered half a god by some, completely infallible by others. Satomobiles were omnipresent, and ubiquitous enough that the fortune amassed from their sale would be far more than significant; vast, even. Even the combined wealth of the White Lotus wouldn’t be anything but a drop in the bucket compared to Hiroshi’s billions. Her heart sank. How could she propose to court the blood royal daughter of the city’s richest man? She was foolish to run out before Tenzin could explain how he proposed to ‘delicately’ convince Mr. Sato to forgo the traditional bride price. Now she was here with his daughter, on a date, and she had no way of proceeding.

“I’m not intimidated, just impressed, is all.” She countered, finally. “It’s not every day you meet a pretty omega trying to run you over with her moped...and find out later that her dad invented it.”

Asami’s laugh was uproarious and infectious. Korra joined in, and, feeling bold, put her hand over hers on the table, letting her fingers rest against the omega’s. The touch was electric, and forced her eyes into Asami’s, drowning in those flytrap-green depths. She cleared her throat. “There is another reason I know your father’s name,” she admitted finally. Something about those mossy eyes made her honest.

“Let me guess,” Asami sighed and the fingers withdrew as she examined her food, looking suddenly morose. “You’ve heard about me, also.”

Korra saw no point in lying. “Well, yes.” She spread her hands. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m basically forced to be aware of every omega in the city, because of the whole…um…thing with me being the first alpha Avatar in a long time. So Tenzin told me about you.” She caught Asami’s gaze once more, guiltily. “I just didn’t know that you were…you.”

“A blood royal, you mean?” Asami’s eyes were distant and her smile was bitter. “And I bet you’re wondering why I’m out on a date with you, instead of happily mated off with some wealthy alpha?”

Korra nodded, helplessly. That had been exactly what she was thinking.

The omega sighed and her eyes dropped. “It’s complicated.” She offered, at last. “My father has a lot of…expectations, and I try to live up to them, but he also allows me my freedom.” She sniffed. “At least, somewhat.”

“I know how that feels.” The alpha looked down at her plate; although the arrangement was ornate, the shrimp still smelled delicious. She picked up her spoon, savoring her first sip of broth. “Even though I’m the Avatar, I don’t really get any freedom either. Everyone just wants me to mate so I can sire more benders, and they don’t really care about me as a person. Avatar Aang got to run around the whole world with his friends, and he was almost _half_ my age when he stopped the Fire Lord…but there were more benders then. The White Lotus thinks if they lost me to some adventure, then the world would lose its bending.” She grunted, stirring her soup, still feeling the weight of old, angry wounds.

Asami was looking at her with a sudden genuine understanding, and it softened her even in the wake of hardened memories. “I completely understand. My father wants me to find a mate for...different reasons, but I feel like I can be so much more than that, more than just some alpha’s broodmare.” She huffed and then reddened, realizing what she’d said. “Not that you…that we…oh _no_.” She put her lovely head in her hands.

Now it was Korra’s turn to grin and chuckle. “It’s okay, I get it.” Once again, their fingers met across the table, and Asami’s shy smile warmed her from the inside out.

“Would you like to go for a carriage ride after this?” She suggested, her eyes hopeful.

“I’d love to,” Korra assured her, her inner alpha giving a surge of optimism.

Inside the carriage, the darkness made her bold, and she pulled Asami’s warm weight against her chest. The omega sighed contentedly, and her fingers came up to stroke at the opening of Korra’s shirt, dipping into her clavicle and running just barely at the edge of where her breasts began their obvious swell. “You look _really_ cute in this suit.” Asami praised, and heat rose to Korra’s thighs. “But why didn’t you let the servants fix your hair with the clasp I got you?”

The alpha squirmed, feeling completely inadequate to express her gratitude without also rebuffing the omega. “Um, it’s just…this hairstyle is all I have left of my Water Tribe life, my heritage before I was the Avatar. I know it’s silly, but…it makes me think of my mom.” She stroked one of her ponytails self-consciously, avoiding Asami’s lantern-lit eyes, glowing pale jade.

“It’s not silly at all.” A warm, pale hand cupped her face and she turned helplessly back to the raven-haired woman, drawn in as if by a spell. Asami hesitated for a moment, ducking her eyes, and then looked up at Korra again, biting her lip a little. “My mother died when I was very young. I understand how it feels to want just a piece of her with me...”

They were moving closer, inexorably, and Korra was helpless to keep her eyes off of Asami’s red, red lips, where her tongue darted out to moisten them, forcing the alpha to bite back a moan. She mimicked the action, unconsciously, her mouth feeling dry and her lips cracked like the shifting sands of the desert. Asami was looking from her mouth to her eyes, and there was a signal there, an invitation. Korra took it, gasping into the kiss as she dipped her head to meet Asami’s lifted lips.

The melding, heated fire forge that was Asami’s mouth was a burning, dissolving rush, like the heart of a volcano. Korra threaded her hands through the silky black hair she’d longed to touch all night and slipped her tongue between the omega’s parted lips; sliding to tease her, flickering against her lips to encourage her, plunging in to force her to moan. She caught the omega’s tongue in her mouth, questing almost shyly, and she sucked it, making the other girl fist the material of her blazer and cling to her like a limpet. They parted several times for air but each time fell back, sinking deep into the kiss like boots into fresh snowfall, and, just as easily, they were floundering, struggling against each other.

Korra wanted so many things at once that she ached. Her cock strained against her pants, pushing for attention, but she almost wanted to ignore it, to keep kissing forever, and the sensation was strange to her. With any other omega, she’d be imperiously forcing their heads down to worship at the altar of the Avatar, getting the most of the supplication of their mouths before she sent them away, but with Asami, although her length was throbbing against the thin inseam of her shorts, there was a hesitancy to her urges. She was desperate for any kind of touch but too afraid of the idea of possible, never-before-experienced rejection to demand it; after all, the blood royal could easily push her away and have her pick of any other dates. Not only that but, strangely enough, she wasn’t sure she wanted Asami to suck her off, to submit totally like that. She, Korra, the Avatar, the Alpha of all Alphas…she wanted to worship at the altar herself, to feel the omega’s quivering thighs part for her in desire, before she asked for anything for her own needs. This was a completely new emotion to the Avatar: no one before would have ever even been able to consider saying no to her, and never before had anyone else’s pleasure seemed more important than her own. So she waited, hands helplessly bunching in Asami’s hair and stroking her sides, peppering her jaw with kisses, unsure of what she wanted to happen.

At last, Asami broke away, and her eyes were all pupil. She laid a delicate hand on Korra’s thigh, so close to her aching cock that she felt the flesh jump involuntarily, and wet her lips again, looking as conflicted as Korra felt. “I…we…kissing you is amazing but-“

“We need to stop.” Korra supplied for her, letting her hands still on her sides to avoid further inflaming the omega. “I know you don’t want to rut on the first date, and…um…neither do I.”

 _Yes you do_ , her traitorous cock whispered to her. _She wants it too_. The young alpha crossed her legs firmly, trying to cool her ardor. _Shut up,_ she mentally hissed to her groin. _I control you, not the other way around_ …. but she wasn’t entirely sure about that. Something about this particular omega was making it very hard (pun intended) to manage her usual level of command over her body’s urges.

“You know, I kind of do.” Asami’s laugh was sultry, and her half-lidded eyes and kiss-swollen lips didn’t help with the seduction of her image. Korra swallowed, willing herself not to touch her again, but Asami made the move for her, grabbing one of her hands and brushing a kiss to her knuckles. “But you’re right; I’m not ready for that yet, no matter what my body wants. Is that okay?” Her eyes raised from Korra’s hand so sweetly, so innocently, that the Avatar felt herself melt.

“Of course,” she assured the omega, gazing helplessly back at her. “Whatever you want, Asami, I’m not going to pressure you.”

Asami’s smile set her insides to a fuzzy, golden glow, but it did nothing to soften her cock, strangely enough. The omega settled her head back down on Korra’s chest, and her sigh tore through the young Avatar like a knife through parchment. “I feel so safe with you.” She whispered.

The rest of the ride in the carriage was a blur, as far as Korra was concerned. The white heat of Asami’s body against her chest, and the lancing, lingering burn of her kiss as they parted so Korra could catch the ferry back to the island…that was all she remembered as she stared, lovestruck, out the window back toward the glittering lights of Republic City as the ferry chugged slowly away from the docks. She’d never felt this way before. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends and teammates all about it.

_______________________________

Asami watched the progress of the water as the ferry moved slowly towards the island, shrinking from her view. Her thin shoulders straightened as she felt, rather than saw, a dark form approach from the shadows of an alleyway, where a long, black Satomobile waited.

“Is it done, then?” Her father asked, from behind her, his voice quiet to avoid being overheard. As usual, his presence made her stand taller, square her back firmer, and try to raise herself to his esteem.

She nodded, resolutely. She'd felt strangely after the kiss, but now, with the slightly-stifling-yet-comforting reassurance of her role and her father's expectations, she could ignore that in favor of doing whatever she needed to earn his praise. “It’s as good as. The Avatar will be putty in my hands within days.” She smiled, feral through her teeth, and Hiroshi gave her an approving pat on the back.

“Excellent work, as usual. Amon will be pleased. Now, come, we have a meeting.” He beckoned, and she turned, following him into the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Asami and Korra each work out their respective feelings, the Equalists begin to make waves in Republic City.

There were many halls and passageways in the Sato mansion that were underutilized, and seldom noticed. The Lieutenant preferred these; he could be in and out of Hiroshi’s office without being observed by servants. His lithe, wirey frame moved easily through the cobwebbed shadows, in and out of hazy frames of light bisected by metal grates that allowed hot air to move into the rooms. He arrived at the end of the passage and straightened, brushing accumulated spider webs and dust from his uniform. Sato was big on presentation.

As he entered via the hidden doorway in the bookshelf, Hiroshi lifted his eyes from a pile of paperwork on his desk and greeted him with a vague wave, gesturing him closer. “Ah yes, Lieutenant. Did you manage to catch up to them?”

He clicked his heels briskly together and nodded in salute. “Yes, sir. Your daughter and the Avatar are currently leaving the Fire Lord Gardens as we speak.” He let a wry almost-smile play on the corners of his razor-sharp mouth. “She took off quite fast in the Satomobile. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was trying to lose me.”

Hiroshi chuckled darkly. “Asami is…not found of being tailed, but she will do her part. I have complete faith in her.” He turned back to his desk. “Did the Avatar seem interested?”

“Very much so.” The Lieutenant replied.

“Anything inappropriate?”

“She was definitely trying, but your daughter held firm.” The thin mustache twitched as he remembered the soft whispers against a column in the gardens, and the way Asami had seemed to melt between the young alpha’s muscled arms. He almost stepped in then, jealousy fanning the flames of hatred in his heart, but he waited and watched as she then regained her pristine composure and pushed the Avatar away with a teasing laugh. That had been almost too close to real. No need to worry Hiroshi unnecessarily, however. Everything was still according to plan.

“Good.” Hiroshi grimaced. “As much as I don’t like even seeing the Avatar with my daughter, having her bred by a bender would be far worse. We must do what we can to delay the match until the time is right.”

  
The Lieutenant nodded, grimly agreeing. Asami was promised to him, his reward for loyal service and securing the Avatar for Amon, and it pained him just as much as her father to watch her play love interest with another, let alone a bender. But soon, the blood royal would be his, and the Avatar powerless, and this whole charade would be over. Then, he could be the one forcing such lovely sighs from the omega’s throat…willingly or not.

He was dismissed with a wave; Hiroshi never prolonged their meetings more than necessary to avoid overt suspicion from his staff. As he made his way silently back down the darkened corridor, he paused at the beam of light that illuminated the door to Asami’s room. Laying on a small plinth beside the doorframe was a pile of hastily-arranged, expensive-looking flowers, attached to a note. The smell of the Avatar was all over the door, and her longing was practically clinging to the petals like dew; he didn’t need to see the note’s contents to know who the flowers had come from. He snarled, feeling his alpha rise, wanting to break the door down and rut into the protesting little bitch with one stroke, claiming her before the other alpha had a chance. His insides seethed and for a moment he was struck still, clenching his fists as he envisaged his revenge.

The Avatar was making stiff, old-fashioned courting attempts, clearly unused to the concept, but her efforts affronted him, all the same, and he had to cool himself. His control was absolute, so intense that he was often assumed to be a beta, and if he allowed his inner alpha to overtake him in this manner, he could spoil their delicately-planned plot and Hiroshi might withdraw his offer of his daughter’s hand. That would be entirely unacceptable. His face resumed its unreadable, blank mask expression and he continued on, down the corridor. Control would be necessary for the remainder of this exercise.

Control, and restraint.

______________________________

Asami paused beside her door as she noticed the flowers, and despite herself, she smiled, just a little. Her efforts to tease the Avatar into a frenzy seemed to be working if the alpha was resorting to such quaint courting methods. The scent of Korra was all over them, and for a moment her nose was reeling in response to a musk and incense and frigid ice water smell, a rough leather and sweat smell…an alpha smell that made her body warm and her nipples rise, which only aggravated her. _Stop behaving like a common omega_ , she admonished herself, but still, her legs shook slightly with want of firm hands gripping them. Korra’s scent was having a troubling effect on her, and she waved it away, shaking the flush from her face.

A few loose blooms dropped to the floor from the impromptu, less-than-perfect arrangement as she lifted the bouquet, but in some ways that was endearing: prospective mates were supposed to make flower arrangements themselves, with certain messages spelled out in the blossoms, and Korra had obviously made an attempt, amateurish as it was. The smile she couldn’t help stretched a bit farther as she read the note: ‘ _Couldn’t figure out what message I wanted to send, so I just found the pretty ones that also looked like they had some practical purpose. Like you. -K’_

She’d done well. The flowers spilling over Asami’s arms were hard workers, in the botanical sense; fireflower and dragon plant were good pollinators, and their bark could be used in tinctures and tonics. Jade lilies, however, were more extravagant, usually only used to scent the gardens of expensive manors, and Asami was touched to think that Korra would blend such an elegant flower with the humble garden varieties. It just showed how well the Avatar was paying attention to her, even as she kept her mask up and tried to reveal little in response to questioning. Korra could see through her so well that sometimes….

Her father’s heavy footsteps on the plush carpet of the hall awoke her from her rampant, disturbingly warm thoughts. She was grateful for intrusion into her thoughts; being with the alpha could throw her mind into some strange places lately. But around her father she knew her duty. He smiled, pleased, to see her holding flowers.

“Ah, I see the Avatar has been enjoying your company.” Hiroshi fingered a fireflower and then casually ripped it from the stem, which made Asami cringe, internally, although she could not say why. “But not too well, I hope?”

She blushed. “No, Dad.” Although, she reflected, it was becoming a near thing. Korra had almost made her give in today, her clever fingers working at the seams of her stockings while they kissed in the gardens. It was only by the strength of her training that she managed to put aside the overwhelming omega urges to let the alpha kiss her, push into her, part her thighs and slide _inside_ …

But these thoughts were not something she wanted to entertain in front of her father, and she cleared her throat to dispel them. “No, I remember my duty.”

“Of course you do, you’re my daughter.” His eyes were twinkling as he examined the fireflower, which was also his pet name for her. Korra couldn’t have known that when she selected it, but it had a significance to their family that strengthened her resolve and reminded her of her loyalties. She straightened. No half-baked Avatar was going to put her on her back so easily.

“It should be easy to resist her. As you can see, she’s not much used to courting.” She indicated the messy arrangement with her arms, dismissively. “And with our agents placed in the White Lotus, I can easily see her movements around the city, just as I did at our first meeting, so I can ‘bump’ into her any time.”

“Just so you remember.” Hiroshi raised his dark brows at her to indicate seriousness. “You are promised to another. I need your engagement to cement our deal with Amon, so that Future Industries will rise to control of Republic City’s assets during the takeover. The Lieutenant has been kind enough to overlook a few kisses, but I doubt he will look so kindly on any… _indiscretions_.” He looked sharply at her. “You’ve taken your suppressants, yes? Can’t have you going into heat during this delicate time.”

She flushed again, but this time with anger. Her omega status was often a source of shame for her arrogant, alpha father, who had wanted a strong alpha to take over his business and rise to his footsteps. Hiroshi had come to accept her and name her as his rightful heir, acknowledging her skill and smarts were as useful as any alpha, but in some ways he still treated her as lesser. She knew some of her past teenage rebellions had something to do with it, especially the few months she’d dated a firebender to piss him off, but he didn’t have to bring heats into this. She knew what she was doing. She wasn’t a silly slut omega, she was a blood royal. She knew her place.

“Of course,” she snapped, “what kind of fool do you think I am? I’m not about to let the Avatar rut me like some common whore.” Her father winced at the rough language, but that was her intent. She moved to her door in a fury, and threw the flowers into the wastebasket just inside, slamming the lid down onto them. “Let the lovesick little pup court me. It’ll only make it easier to hand her passively over when the time is right. She won’t even resist.” The words snarled from her throat, almost unbidden.

Behind her, Hiroshi nodded approvingly. “Good. Never forget, Asami. Your mother was killed because she supported the Avatar.” His smile dropped and his eyes hardened.

“Don’t make the same mistake.”

_________________________________

  
Cherry blossoms drifted like snow against the sides of the training ground bench where the radio played, announcing the results of the last few series of pro-bending matches. Korra moved fluidly, hands extended, as she practiced her airbending stances, focusing on her breathing. The light chill in the air made the hairs on her arms lift, but there was another reason she was tingling.

The second, and third dates with Asami had been just as captivating as the first…and just as teasingly innocent, with only a few heated kisses in between chaste, demure outings. Korra’s memory was scorched with the brief feel she’d had of Asami’s exposed thigh under her skirt as she’d pinned the omega to the side of the marble column in the rose garden, stifling her pretty gasp with a kiss so that visiting tourists wouldn’t overhear. Other than that, and the brush of Asami’s delicate hand against her cock during a particularly heated make out session in the Satomobile while she was driving Korra home, there hadn’t been anything further, and now Korra had resolved her feelings about it.

She _wanted_ Asami now, wanted her like nothing else she’d felt, and if the omega kept playing coy, she didn’t know what she’d do. Being respectful of her feelings was difficult enough as it was now, but the more intensely they kissed, the more impossible it became. She didn’t want to hurt Asami, and would never take her against her will, abasing her like some monster of an alpha might... but she also wanted to bury her knot, and soon, or she felt like it might possibly explode.

A few harsh blasts of air cut through the cherry trees, sending another rain of blossoms down onto her head. She huffed, and wiped herself clean, feeling particularly stupid. Master of airbending she was not…at least not yet. Tenzin was always warning her to keep her temper under control while airbending, as it was a subtle form, not suited to expressive emotions like firebending. It was a skill she had yet to embrace.

“Hey Korra!” The voice of her ex-boyfriend made her turn, and a friendly smile greeted the firebender as he approached. Though Mako had taken their breakup harshly once he learned of Korra’s true feelings (or rather, lack thereof) for him, he had chosen to remain her friend, and for that she was glad. Mako was loyal, dependable, and strong…and his neutral beta scent was definitely something she needed right now to distract her from cock-teasing omega on the brain.

“Hey Mako,” she greeted him gratefully, brushing more cherry blossoms from her shoulders. “Where’s Bolin? I thought we were going to practice?” Since Tenzin didn’t approve of letting her go into the city unescorted (a fact that was slowly-but-thankfully-changing with his tacit approval of her dating the blood royal) they habitually had practice here on the island, where the spacious training grounds afforded them ample sparring room.

“That’s just it; I was coming to ask if you’d seen him. We got into a fight over how he’s always late with the rent money, and he took off, saying he 'knew where to get money'. So he hasn’t been here?”

The young Avatar shook her head, feeling worry begin to creep into the edges of her mind. With Equalists attacks on benders becoming more frequent, an earthbender like Bolin wasn’t safe out on his own.

“Damn, I should have never let him storm off like that.” Mako was clearly having the same thoughts. He shook his head, probably to clear his self-torment, and regarded her anxiously with his amber eyes. “Will you help me find him? I bet his dumb ass went off to the Triple Threats again; he has a knack for getting into stupid situations.”

“Of course!” She assured him quickly. “And don’t worry, I bet Bolin just went to eat his feelings off at Narook’s, we’ll probably find him there.” She whistled for Naga.

As the bounding footsteps of the massive bear-dog approached, Mako shook his head glumly. “No, believe me, I had the same idea. He wasn’t there; Narook said he hasn’t seen him since the last time you two came there drunk and nearly trashed the place after pissing off Tahno and the Wolfbats.”

Korra raised a hand to her head with a cringing smile in response to Mako’s raised eyebrow, but luckily she was saved by Naga’s massive tongue swiping the back of his head. He yelped in surprise and was quickly bowled over by her enthusiastic pawing. Naga liked Mako a lot; he usually brought seal blubber strips for her, and this time was no exception. He hurriedly fumbled in his pockets and tossed a strip of jerkied meat across the courtyard, allowing him to rise to his feet as the white beast darted happily off after it.

“You really have to train her better.” He grumbled, brushing himself off and rearranging his now-wet hair.

“Oh I don’t know, I think she’s got you pretty well trained already.” Korra snorted jovially, patting Naga’s panting head and tittering at Mako’s rolling eyes. She swung aboard; the saddle was already in place thanks to a prior morning jaunt around the island, and Mako hopped up after her. They galloped off, making for the docks, and the city beyond.

It was a cold enough evening that the cold fog off of the bay had yet to rise, and the grey-white haze made their ferry journey like swimming through soup, with the city rising up before them so suddenly that the ferry driver swore and almost slammed into the docks. The fog concealed and swirled around Naga’s paws as the great beast navigated her way through the city, making for the Triple Threat headquarters.

“Careful,” Mako cautioned as they arrived, “there’s usually thugs posted outside.” Korra snorted at his attempts to sneak up to the door, and kicked it open derisively, ignoring his outraged huff at her lack of subtlety. There was no one inside, something she’d suspected from the lack of guards elsewhere, and the room was in disarray.

As they searched the room for clues, Mako inched his brows up at her, ever-higher, until they practically touched his hair. “So, you ever gonna tell me the name of this mystery omega you’ve been seeing?” He needled.

“Aren’t we supposed to be looking for Bolin?” She pointed out, faux-exasperated. She was actually waiting for the right time to tell Mako about Asami; he was a good friend now, but in deference to their former relationship, she hadn’t wanted to gush to him in the same way she had to Bolin. She suspected that he understood and respected her kindness, but was also encouraging her to share. Typical of Mako to use a protective big-brother approach to tackling a difficult topic.

“C’mon, no one is here. He’s clearly not-“ Mako started to argue, but a sudden noise from the back of the house made them both turn, startled. “Bolin?” He called, anxiously. “Bo, you here?”

Korra’s senses tingled. She leapt over a pile of boxes and dashed to the source of the noise, arriving with Mako panting behind her just in time to see a truck pull away from the back loading bay, doors swinging. Inside, she saw Bolin, bound and gagged alongside Shady Shin and the other Triple Threats. His eyes bulged at her helplessly, and she roared, fists clenching in flames. “ _Bolin_!”

“Naga!” Mako cupped his hands around his mouth and blew a sharp whistle, and in an instant the polar bear-dog was skidding around the corner. She threw herself onto the saddle, scrambling to help Mako behind her, and they were off in the direction of the kidnappers,Naga’s paws thudding on the cobblestones as the great beast lengthened her mighty strides, gaining on the truck. Without warning, a Satocycle appeared from alongside them, and its rider was wearing the uniform of the chi-blocking Equalist troops. Korra tried to slam Naga against the vehicle but it pulled ahead, and the cycle’s cylinders released a green, choking gas that filled their nostrils with an acrid smell.

Korra cried out and urged Naga forward, her eyes streaming, and the gas cleared long enough for Mako to send a jet of flame out toward the Satocycle’s rider, clearing their way. The cycle easily dodged, even as he struck again and again, sending gouts of flame past the veering sides of the small bike. Korra took an earth stance, flexing up with her biceps as she pushed, sending a shockwave of concrete and stone up from the street. The bike ramped up, leaping high into the air, and Korra watched as it landed with a harsh jolt, zipping past them again as they headed into a square.

The truck zoomed ahead, and the bike skidded to a sideways halt in front of Naga’s oncoming charge as the rider leapt nimbly into a flip, throwing a weighted bolas that wrapped around the polar bear-dog’s legs, sending the beast down with a pained yelp. Korra and Mako leapt clear, rolling, and ran to meet the chi-blocker, who sprung silently toward them, unnervingly quick. As they got closer, Korra could see their attacker was a woman, judging by the feminine rise of breasts below her uniform, but there was no time to process the strange familiarity of that shape, as the chi-blocker dodged Mako’s fire blasts with ease, skipping behind him to land a series of flat hand blows to his spine. He cried out, clutching his arm as it hung uselessly, and toppled to the ground.

And then the chi-blocker was upon her, and all Korra could do was react. She swung out with a lance of fire, but the lithe form evaded her, slamming up with a vicious blow to her arm. She kicked back, jetting flame past her attacker’s ear, but the chi-blocker was unfazed and continued her assault, pressing Korra back with her spinning, snake-like movements. Korra had never been up against someone as agile, as swift, as this mystery woman, and there was something irrepressibly familiar about the way she moved, the way she taunted for Korra’s attacks and evaded in one fluid, effortlessly graceful motion. It was all she could do to defend herself, she couldn’t press forward with her attack, and before she knew it, a slim hand had snuck past her defenses to slam into the pressure points along her spine.

Korra yelled, feeling her energy drain from her limbs, and she slumped to her knees, helpless to stop the chi-blocker, as she approached with another bolas, swinging it menacingly. Her heart soared, however, as Naga appeared with a roaring growl, stampeding to the rescue across the square, having escaped her bonds. The chi-blocker flipped away, landing on her bike with hardly a sound, and kicked the cycle to life, disappearing in a haze of fog before any of them could react.

The truck, however, seemed to be having trouble starting, and the Equalist in uniform behind the engine kicked it savagely, abandoning it to run as his fellows did the same, tossing smoke bombs of that burning, acid-green gas behind them as they did. Mako stumbled to his feet, forcing himself up and pulling on the doors of the truck, to let Bolin and the Triple Threats pile out on top of him, having been thrown around in the chase. “Mako!” Bolin cried as his brother groaned in pain from somewhere below Lightning Bolt Zolt. “You saved me! I love you!”

“Technically both of us saved you,” Korra pointed out, laughing, but her delight in Mako’s predicament was short lived as a mustachioed figure bearing two lightning-charged sticks planted his foot onto Bolin’s face and jumped free of the truck, coming down toward the Avatar with both sticks raised. She cried out and rolled free, dodging as blue sparks struck the street.

“Korra!” Mako swung out with his unblocked foot, sending a burst of fire toward the Equalist. The fire singed his coat, but the man only dodged as easily as the chi-blocker had and slammed one charged stick into Mako’s chest sending shocks through his body as he cried out.

“You benders need to understand,” the Equalist snarled, advancing on Korra with sticks crackling bright blue, "there's no place for you anymore.” He swung.

“I wouldn’t count us out just yet.” Bolin’s voice was shaky, but confident, and the concrete of the street rippled and thrust upwards, hitting the mustachioed Equalist in the chest and flinging him onto the side of a building.

“Bolin! Nice work!” She enthused, and then helped him push Mako onto Naga’s saddle, swinging on board just as their attacker recovered across the square and dragged himself to his feet. “Naga, _go_!”

The bear-dog growled and galloped out of the square, heading back to the island and relative safety, but Korra couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder at the man who watched them go, sticks crackling sparks as he clenched his hands angrily. This was no ordinary Equalist. She was sure she’d just faced one of Amon’s personal henchmen, perhaps even his fabled Lieutenant, who had forsaken any other name than the one Amon had bestowed upon him. And that chi-blocker…something about her movements were so maddeningly familiar, as if there was something Korra was missing, something just on the tip of her tongue…

She shook her head, clutching the reigns tightly as she leaned back to look at Bolin and Mako sitting slumped behind her on the saddle, faces ashen. “I don’t know about you guys,” she began, somewhat ruefully, “but I’m giving a lot more thought to that task force Tarrlok keeps talking about.”

“Yeah,” Mako intoned from the back, his voice solemn. “I think the Equalists just became Team Avatar’s number one priority.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've played around a bit with timelines here, to allow for some Equalist Asami action before she's revealed, so while technically the events of this chapter are in an earlier episode, it was the only way I could get Asami and Korra in a face off. Yes, in this series, Asami is a chi-blocker, and yes, that will come up later....sexually. ;) 
> 
> Follow me on [ Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterbones87) for updates and teaser snippets.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Tarrlok's banquet, Korra can't keep her hands off of Asami, but when Mako shows up, things get heated in a different way altogether.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful to Tarrlok for throwing her a banquet, Korra decided, adjusting the ties that held her ceremonial gown in place; it was more that she really hated having to get dressed up. She never knew what to do with her makeup and the gown felt like it fit all wrong. Still, the nerves in her belly had nothing to do with her outfit and she knew it. It was because Asami would be there.

Tarrlok had announced that all of the movers and shakers of Republic City’s dynamic infrastructure would be attending the gala event to celebrate the Avatar’s inclusion in his task force against Amon, which included the famous industrialist. He’d even expressed a direct invitation to any Equalist sympathizers, stating that the party was to be a bridge between the benders and non-benders alike. Korra couldn’t help but feel like a pawn in a larger chess game that she couldn’t yet see the scope of; she didn’t like how Tarrlok’s grand gestures made her look as if she had taken sides. But the evening was going on whether she approved or no, and the fact was, knowing Hiroshi Sato and his lovely daughter had both been invited made her eager to go, even if she was being played.

The blue fabric of the gown shifted against her legs as she crossed the courtyard to meet up with the main group from Air Temple Island that would be attending the party. Naga howled sadly from behind her locked gate, and Korra gave her a sympathetic wave as she approached Mako, who looked resplendent in a simply cut suit and his signature red scarf.

“Korra.” He whistled appreciatively. “You really clean up nice. How come you didn’t dress up like this when we were dating?” He nudged her ribs, playfully.

“Stop.” She rolled her eyes and elbowed him back. “You know I hate fancy stuff. I’m just going because-“

“Because the mystery omega will be there.” Mako supplied, smug in his teasing. She longed to punch the smirk off of his mouth and show him a thing or two…but that would certainly dirty her gown. “You know, you still haven’t told me anything about her. Except that she’ll be at the banquet tonight and that I better not embarrass you.”

“Seriously.” She warned, showing him a fist of fire. “I may be in this gown but I can still kick your ass all the way to the bending arena if I have to.”

He put his hands up, faux-defensive, and she landed a few soft jabs, dancing around him as best she could in the restrictive fabric of the gown. Bolin joined them there, complaining about his suit (although he too, looked quite dapper) and by the time Tenzin found them, she had Bolin in a headlock while Mako was threatening to do the same to her. They all straightened, guiltily, as Tenzin gave them a verbal dressing down about behavior and public manners. Korra quickly readjusted her cap, and brushed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear, rolling her eyes. Tenzin caught the gesture and narrowed his eyes. “Korra, would you prefer to stay at home tonight?” He threatened.

“No! Uh, nope, I’ll behave.” She winced at her eagerness, so excited to see Asami in another devastating gown, and maybe get a chance to cop a brief feel again. _Calm down,_ she told her already-stiffening clit _, you haven’t even seen her yet._

But when she did, all bets were off.  
________________________________________

  
The ferry ride had been uncomfortably long, and Korra was fidgeting anxiously by the time they arrived at the city council building, bedecked in golden lanterns and overflowing with well-dressed guests. A waiter passed by with a tray of champagne glasses and she grabbed one, quickly downing it under Tenzin’s reproachful glare. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then Tarrlok approached and he snapped it shut, turning his baleful look over to his fellow council member.

“Tarrlok.” Tenzin greeted him stiffly, but the sly waterbender alpha only responded with a dismissive wave and a nod, turning to Korra almost immediately.

“Avatar,” Tarrlok’s smile was oily and she instinctively curled her lip at him, but restrained herself. “So delighted you could join us.”

“Tarrlok, it’s a pleasure to be here.” She replied politely, mistrust roiling amid the nervous emotions in her stomach. She didn’t like this fellow alpha, and it wasn’t out of competition; she simply didn’t trust his motives. She had reason to believe he would show himself to be false all too soon, and her body stiffened as he brushed his lips against her knuckles.

“I was hoping to introduce you to a good friend of mine.” He smirked, slightly and Korra grit her teeth at the urge to wipe the smugness from his face. “I believe you know his daughter quite well already. Ah, there he is now; Hiroshi!”

Korra turned with Tarrlok, and there, making their way sedately through the crowds, was Asami on the arm of her father, who appeared to be a solid, heavy-jawed man with a dark mustache and thick black hair, but the Avatar only had eyes for his daughter. She clutched her empty champagne stem and tried not to stare too openly, but it was a fool’s errand. She was lost. Spirits, that red and gold silk, the way it covered her from head to toe in diaphanous, suggestive curves. Korra took a breath as the Satos approached, and arranged her face in what she hoped was a pleasant smile.

“Tarrlok, you old scoundrel.” Hiroshi’s voice admonished playfully, and he greeted his fellow alpha with a fond shouldering. “I almost didn’t make it to the gates, what with your press hounds slavering outside. Did you invite _every_ media outlet in the city?”

“Just the important ones.” Tarrlok rejoined and then turned to greet Asami, his eyes raking dangerously over her form as Korra clenched her jaw behind him, willing herself to behave. “Why, if it isn’t the young Miss Sato! I’m delighted to see you’ve finally decided to join us from your workshop.” His lips brushed her knuckles just as he did Korra’s, but this time they lingered, altogether too long for the Avatar’s taste, and she felt a possessive growl start to rumble in her throat before she could stop herself. She coughed, and hopped the sound could be passed off, but inwardly cursed herself. _What is with you? Don’t alpha-out on a girl you haven’t even mated with yet._

But the thought of mating didn’t help her predicament any more, especially as Asami swanned closer, the elegant hint of her perfume not masking the delectable, saliva-inducing smell of blood royal, and she could see many alphas in the vicinity were affected. It only made her the more aroused and anxious, aware of so many eyes on her prospective prize.

“May I present the Avatar?” Tarrlok was saying, sweeping his arm out to introduce Korra to Asami’s father. She tore her eyes away from his daughter and dutifully held her hand out for greeting, forcing a polite smile to her lips.

“It’s great to meet you, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous!” The inventor guffawed, and he pulled her into an immersive bear hug, which surprised her. As he drew her back at arm’s length, Asami caught her eye over his shoulder in a smoldering look that set her quivering, resisting the urge to harden while the omega’s father was so close. “I’ve heard much more about you. The first alpha Avatar in three centuries. What a treat to get to meet you in person!” He motioned, drawing Asami forward with her hand raised in his. “And you’ve already met my daughter, Asami.”

“Yes,” Korra blushed, and tried not to stare directly at the omega’s breasts, so alluringly pressed up for her view by the shape of her dress. “It’s been wonderful getting to know her recently.”

“Well, I’m pleased as punch. I hope you two will become fast friends… _very_ good friends, indeed.” There was a twinkle in his eye, but for a split second, it almost appeared as if something hard, and dark had obscured his vision, and then it was gone, replaced by the good-natured smile of the jovial industrialist.

Tenzin stepped forward, hand at the ready, and Tarrlok introduced them. Korra watched as her mentor seemed drawn in by Hiroshi’s apparent charm, which bothered her, but Asami’s smile to Tenzin was genuine and the airbending master gave Korra a succinct look of approval after he took her hand. That was good. Tenzin’s opinion meant more to her than he, or even she herself, realized at times.

A cool hand laid on her shoulder as she pensively watched the three men discussing current economics in Republic City, and she whirled, catching green eyes that glittered like the scales of a mermaid. Everything about Asami was mythically beautiful, but her eyes even more so, and Korra drew in a sharp breath, trying to force herself not to smile like a lovesick puppy. She failed in her task, and spectacularly so, but it didn’t matter because Asami’s coy, catlike smile was answering back, and her palm was slipping from Korra’s shoulder to drop into her hand.

“C’mon,” the omega leaned in to whisper in her ear, sending a wave of arousal down her spine, and Korra shivered, feeling her tiny hairs rise at the nape of her neck. “Now that they’ve started talking shop, we can sneak away.”

Korra could only imagine what ‘sneaking away’ might entail, and she allowed herself to be tugged insistently from the group, following Asami as her mind raced, switching between admiring the shifting hips in front of her to envisioning the things Asami might have in mind. Finally, the crowds began to thin and Korra found herself in an empty hallway, one used for storage or waitstaff access, with Asami, who turned to her with a shy grin.

The alpha couldn’t wait to hear whatever teasing little snippet would come from her lips, however. Not when she had other, better plans, in mind. She surged forward and caught Asami’s mouth in a bruising kiss, backing the omega up into the nearest wall, lifting her slender body in one abrupt motion as Korra’s rough hands curled sharply around the shapely curve of her rear.

“ _Mmmmf_!” Was all Asami could say as her shocked body grasped at Korra, adjusting to the new position while the Avatar consumed her mouth like she was quenching a fire. She tried to speak again, but Korra slid her tongue into her mouth while her lips were parted, and was immensely gratified to feel Asami slump into her arms, folding against the wall while Korra pushed her hips insistently into that damn dress. She felt herself rise, thickening almost instantly. Through the thin fabric of their dresses, she could almost feel the edge of Asami’s panties against her cock, straining through her shorts, and she whimpered into Asami’s mouth, finding it impossible to stop.

Luckily for her, Asami didn’t seem to want her to.

At first her hands scrabbled for purchase against Korra’s back, but as the kiss deepened, she melted and her hands went to Korra’s shoulders, gripping tightly. She arched her lower body against the alpha, pushing off the wall to get closer, and a low moan was pulled from her throat into Korra’s lips. Heartened, Korra broke the kiss to grasp Asami’s throat in her teeth; not biting down, not yet, but giving a thrill through her whole body to be so close to that heady pulse point and the draw of Asami’s blood royal scent. One of her hands left the omega’s ass to slip up, greedily forcing the material of her dress up around her hips, and she groaned helplessly as her fingers skated across bare, scorching skin.

“Yessss,” Asami hissed through her teeth, throwing her head back to allow Korra’s growling mouth more access. Her pelvis tilted, welcoming the slide of the alpha’s eager fingers across her damp panties. The thin fabric soaked with a fresh flood and two throats shared a single moan, caught like fish in a net, as both sets of eyes dropped between their joined bodies to where Korra’s hand moved beneath the dress like a ghost. The omega’s green eyes were dark as a forest at night, thick and unknowable with passion, and Korra released her neck to kiss her again, softly this time.

“Do you want me to stop?” She panted the question into Asami’s lips.

“No.” Asami wrapped one of her hands around the back of Korra’s neck, biting at her lower lip with nipping, fierce little teeth. “ _No_ , don’t stop, don’t-“

But that was all Korra needed. The remained of her sentence terminated in a keening, lilting whine as Korra resumed her hold on that pale, unmarked throat and her fingers curled around the lace edge of Asami’s delicate panties, finding a melting, wet heat there that made her growl in lust. Korra felt her vision swim and her body jerked in an instinctive thrust. The blood royal scent was everywhere, heady like crushed orange blossoms, and it was making her eyes blur and her body react without thought, as she inhaled and inhaled, drinking it in as greedily as her fingers explored the omega’s weeping, pulsing folds.

The slick heat of Asami’s pussy was all-consuming, overwhelming. Korra had fucked female omegas before, of course, but this was different. This cloud of lust was eating her alive with the urge to get inside, to feel Asami clench around her; she’d never been this primal before and some dim, vague part of her wondered if this was a blood royal thing or just an Asami thing, but she couldn’t care about that now. She could hardly breathe through the scent, but she didn’t want to; she wanted to sink her teeth into this lovely, delicious neck beneath her growls and claim at the same time as her cock filled. She shifted her fingers down, circling the tight, grasping entrance and preparing to thrust them inside, just to get some relief from the _need_ ….

A sudden clatter from the hall made Korra raise her head and Asami stilled against her. There was an overturned cart of silverware and a pair of male alpha servants staring slack-jawed at the spectacle before them; the Avatar about to rut in a public hallway. But they weren’t staring at the Avatar, she realized, in half a heartbeat; they were staring at Asami. The richly tempting scent of omega arousal was everywhere, and it was magnified by the heartbeat-like calling of the blood royal, which screamed that she was fertile, that she was ready and willing to breed. Even from this distance she could see their bodies had already responded, and one had even the temerity to take a half-step forward, but haltingly; as if he didn’t know what he was doing.

Korra stiffened and her body hunched instinctively over Asami, guarding her prize. Her lips lifted, curling back over her teeth, and she unleashed the growl that she’d wanted to let go on Tarrlok earlier, rumbling low and menacing from her chest. The noise struck the two alphas like a blow, cringing them under the alpha Avatar’s dominance, and they shrunk to the floor, crawling backwards submissively in a primal display of deference to the Alpha of All Alphas. Her nose wrinkled as the last of their acrid, musky alpha scent disappeared with them. She’d never actually growled like that at anyone before, using her Avatar status to displace a rival, but the action had inflamed her blood, and her cock showed no signs of flagging.

Beneath her, however, Asami let out a breathy laugh, and she leaned back against the wall, eyes shining. “Spirits, I think that if they hadn’t interrupted us, we might’ve-“

“Fucked against this wall.” Korra guiltily completed for her, and she removed her fingers, allowing Asami to slide back down on slightly-unsteady legs. She helped her balance on spindly heels as the omega adjusted her dress back down, biting her lip against a moan as the arousal scent flared once more. She shook her head, angry at herself. “Asami, I’m sorry. You said you weren’t ready, and I know that, I just lost control. It’s my fault.”

“Don’t be silly.” Asami’s hand was curling around her cheek and she nuzzled into it, cherishing the warmth of her palm. Her green eyes were bright and there was something so genuine, so honest in her happiness that Korra was taken aback, wondering if she’d ever actually seen Asami like this before. Surely she’d been happy before, but this was almost like it was-

“I want you too.” Asami was saying, and the low voice of the omega was sheer seduction to her aching, desperate body. “I’m ready, I am. I just….maybe not in the hallway?” She bit her lip, giving Korra a shy smile, before leaning in to whisper into her ear. “Maybe later, in a bedroom. Later, tonight?”

Before she could respond, the burning heat of Asami’s palm moved from her hand to her cock, in a swift motion that took her breath away. The omega’s fingers danced lightly over the length, palming it briefly before circling her straining tip through the fabric with one sharp, cherry-colored nail. “Tonight.” She confirmed, again, somewhat breathlessly, and landed a kiss on Korra’s pulse, just below her ear.

Korra groaned, helpless beneath her touch, and grabbed her wrist. “If you do that,” she cautioned, voice rumbling on the edge of a growl, “I’m going to come in my dress.”

Asami’s delighted chuckle was thankfully accompanied by the removal of her hand, and Korra could breathe easier. “We wouldn’t want that.” She smiled, and laced her fingers with the Avatar’s, once again tugging her forward, this time out of the hallway. “ _Yet_ , anyway.”

Korra managed to stifle a particularly pitiful groan as they made their way back into the throngs of people leading into the main gala room. People were looking curiously at their joined hands, and whispering amongst themselves; the Avatar hadn’t ever been seen in public with an omega before, and this surely would send gossip racing through the hall about the possible match. Strangely, although speculation about when she would produce bending heirs usually made Korra itch with suppressed rage, the murmurs and head turning wasn’t bothering her as much as it used to. With Asami on her arm, she felt proud, almost regal. It felt… _right_.

She turned to grin at the pretty omega, and her heart filled up almost to bursting to see her smiling back in that same, radiantly honest way that she had earlier in the secluded hallway. Something about Asami didn’t make her just think about mating, but also being mates. Having Asami on her arm all the time, just like this, but better because she would be wearing Korra’s mark, and Korra would have hers. No intrusive alpha stares, no Tarrlok kisses. Just Asami as Korra’s mate, Korra’s omega, belly rounded with Korra’s pups…. _whoa_. The thought startled her, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. She looked in wonder at the woman smiling back at her, letting her mind race with wildly pleasant thoughts that involved _mate_ , and _home_ , and _family_. Could it finally be that she had found someone who made her want to fulfill her duty as the Avatar? Someone who made it feel as if it wasn’t duty, but a joy?

It was too soon to answer that, really, but some part of her felt like she knew already. Her fingers tightened on Asami’s, and she gave a soft squeeze, receiving one in return. They drew up to Tenzin and Hiroshi, who turned to greet them.

“Ah, Korra.” Tenzin lifted a brow at her and she hastily arranged the fabric of her dress away from her crotch. Her cock wasn’t visible anymore but something about the airbender’s eyes bored into her soul as if he was saying _I know what you did._

Hiroshi also seemed aware of where the two had gone, but his face had a mild smirk and he was looking at Asami. Something passed between the two of them, and Asami’s fingers loosened in hers as her body stepped demurely away from the Avatar, allowing more space between them.

Just then, Korra spied Mako and Bolin, standing awkwardly near the tables piled high with food. Bolin was stuffing his face, but Mako looked bored, scuffing his toe against the marble with his arms folded. She felt badly; there wasn’t much admiration for pro-benders amidst the upper echelons of the city’s society, and as two former orphans, they weren’t much for expensive parties. She waved, catching Mako’s eye, and he elbowed Bolin. The two shouldered their way through the crowd, Bolin swallowing a shrimp skewer with most of the wooden stick still attached.

“Mako! Bolin!” Korra cried delightedly. She looked at Asami; their fingers were still linked but she was in between Korra and her father, almost looking conflicted, as if she was wavering with something. As her friends approached, the Avatar beckoned them closer. “Guys, this is Asami, I’ve been wanting to introduce-“

But Mako’s face had hardened in an instant and Asami simultaneously dropped her hand, looking back at him with an expression of such menace that Korra was shocked dumb. Bolin was looking between the two of them, face alternating between white and sickened green. Asami’s eyes glinted harshly and she greeted the firebender with a cold nod. “Hello, Mako.”

“ _Korra, get away from her_!” Mako exploded, throwing himself in between the Sato family and the Avatar, his fists generating jets of blue flame, such was his anger.

Korra threw her hands up, startled beyond thought, as Tenzin sputtered and Hiroshi’s eyes locked grimly with Tarrlok, who made his way swiftly back across the hall as Mako threatened Asami with a flame dagger pointed at her breasts. That set something inside of Korra simmering with rage, and she slapped his hands down, pushing him back with both hands on his shoulders. “Mako, what the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” She roared, challenging him, all of her alpha returning to her voice in an instant. “This is Asami, the woman I've been seeing, and this is her father Hiroshi Sato and he’s-“

“An Equalist, Korra.” Mako yelled back, and his furious amber eyes had dropped onto Hiroshi who regarded him with calm disdain. Asami’s face was almost unreadable, but then her lips were lifted and the omega had her fists clenched at her father’s side, clearly not happy to see Mako. Korra looked between them, eyes darting in askance at her friend. The firebender’s shoulders slumped, and he glanced at Korra sadly, his face telling her more than his words possibly could about how sorry he was to have to tell her this.

“He’s an Equalist, and so is Asami. They’re Amon’s highest ranking supporters.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A contract is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a bit more plot development to go and then we can get into some smut! Bear with me; Hiroshi's plans have deep roots. And sorry for angst! I've got to build up tension before these two can get together. Also WARNING: to anyone triggered by discussion of sexual violence, we get into a bit here, without much detail, but head's up. 
> 
> So glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. It heartens me to keep putting out chapters as fast as I can, so comment away!

“ _No_ ….” Korra let out a soft gasp, feeling strangled. “No, that’s not…that’s…” She trailed off helplessly. “Asami?” She darted her eyes back to the woman she had briefly considered as a mate, thunderstruck. _Please_ , she begged with her whole heart, _please don’t be true_.

Asami looked almost anguished for a moment, and she reached out, almost moving back to Korra with her body leaning forward. “Korra, I-“ But a sharp look from Hiroshi had her dropping her hand and her eyes in one motion, stepping back alongside her father. Korra tried desperately to catch her gaze, but the omega was staring resolutely at the floor, refusing to acknowledge her efforts.

Tarrlok had arrived swiftly to their group, ponytails swaying with the effort. Hiroshi turned to him, eyes flaring as his voice abraded the waterbender. “Tarrlok, what is the meaning of this? You invited me as a gesture of good faith, and now the Avatar’s friend has threatened my daughter!”

The councilman was looking at Mako like something he’d scraped off his shoe, and with a snap of his fingers, a pair of muscular-looking alphas appeared, one at each of Mako’s shoulders. They took hold of him roughly, forcing his arms back, but the beta didn’t struggle, he merely looked at Korra, eyes wide with seriousness. _Believe me_ , he was saying, silently. _You need to believe me_.

“Hiroshi, calm down. I’m sure the boy is just jealous because he courted your daughter years ago.” Tarrlok pleaded, hands held up in a deferential gesture.

That little tidbit of information did not go unnoticed: Korra’s brows lifted and Mako’s face burned red with shame, refusing to look at her or Asami. “That’s not why I-“ He began, heated, but Tarrlok cut him off with a slap of ice across his mouth.

“Jealousy or not, this is an unprovoked attack, at a peace gathering.” Hiroshi stood taller and looked Tarrlok in the eye, his jaw hardening in a stony line.

The waterbender paled and he shook his head, waving his hands desperately. “Come now, Sato,” he sputtered. “No one knew the boy would do this, you can’t possibly-“

“It’s an act of war.” The industrialist replied simply, his green eyes glittering with malice, and, behind him, Tenzin sucked in a breath, his face dropping to a ghostly white.

 __________________________________________________________

“You want to tell me what the _hell_ that was all about?!”

Asami exploded on her father practically the instant they entered the back of their chauffeured Satomobile. She removed her earrings, tossing them into darkness of the seatwell without a second thought; they were a gift from her father and right now she wanted nothing of his on her. “I thought the plan was goad her into joining with Tarrlok by attacking her friends, and then push her into revealing her support to the stacked press at the banquet…not use me as _bait_ for my angry ex-boyfriend to start a _war_!”

“Asami, please,” Hiroshi cautioned, retrieving the gold and jade studs from where they’d fallen in the crevasse of the seats. “You were never intended to be bait. No one could’ve known the firebender boy would react with such aggression.” His lips curled smugly. “Although I did have my suspicions.”

She folded her arms across her chest, aware that she looked like a pouting child, but her fury was so intense she felt the need to keep it pinned inside of her, afraid of what she might do or say. Her father attempted to soothe her, reaching out across the seat to stroke her arm, but she jerked away, and he sighed in that ‘oh-you’re-upset-I-understand’ way that she hated. “Fireflower, everything worked out better than we could have hoped. Because that foolish boy threatened you, we’re in a prime position. The entire banquet was teeming with the press; the news of an impeding Equalist revolution in Republic City will be all over the radio by now, and in the papers by morning. They’ll have to accept our deal or be seen as warmongering cowards. It’s perfect.” He patted her shoulder. “And you know I would never let anything happen to you. You were never in any real danger.”

Asami fumed. She didn’t know how to tell him that she had never feared for her life, in truth; angry as Mako was, he wouldn’t have actually gone through with hurting her. What she was truly angry about…now that was harder to name. The feeling of having to openly choose sides, even though she was supposed to be playing a part. The way Korra’s eyes tightened when she looked at her...especially compared to how they’d been so, so blue and wide open like the wind in a sail, earlier, in the hallway. That was where Asami’s well-trained guard had dropped so far down she’d almost forgotten they were anything other than alpha and omega, anything other than two bodies cleaving together in the heat of the moment, all because of Korra’s ice-blue eyes.

She had been so ready to give herself to Korra then, heedless of her father, of anything. It felt so right, so easy to be caged within her strong arms, lifted to the wall, opened to her touch. And the teeth on her neck…Spirits, it still made her ache to think of how she wanted that. She wanted more, wanted everything the Avatar could give her. She’d already been planning how to sneak away to the Four Elements and reserve a quiet room…and then they’d entered the banquet hall once more and everything had gone to chaos.

Her eyes had welled, without her control, and she wiped at angry tears, smearing her eye makeup, but she didn’t care. Somewhere along the line tonight things had gotten too real, too close to home, and she didn’t remember why she was doing this anymore. She didn’t even remember who she was.

“Dad…” she began in a halting voice. “I can’t do this anymore, I….please, it’s too hard.”

Without warning, a thick, rough hand shot out to slap her, ringing in her ears, and the pain of it jolted her back to reality. Her father leaned into her personal space, his face hot with anger. “It’s _too hard_? You think it’s a pleasure palace, doing what I have to do for you? You know as well as I do that Amon and the Lieutenant are our best shot at recovering our assets after I lost everything at that cheat of a casino, and we're not abandoning the plan just because your feelings got a little hurt. If you think this is hard, you should see what my life was like on the streets; that’ll be our fate if we can’t recover with all the mecha tanks Amon is buying.” He shook her then, threatening. “You’re too soft for that life, but some days I think it would do you good. To see how your father struggled to bring you what you have now, struggled and bled…just as you and I will both bleed if we don’t give Amon what he wants. And what he wants is the Avatar, so that's what we're going to give him.”

He snarled, and spittle sprayed from his mouth to fleck against her cheek, making her wince. “And since I have an omega daughter, instead of a fine alpha son, I must use your womanly wiles to bring about our aims in the dark, instead of striking as a _man_ does, in the daylight. So don’t tell me it’s ‘ _too hard’_. Life is hard. All you have to do is let the Avatar paw at you a bit more, and then it’s done.”

Hiroshi leaned forward and rapped commandingly on the glass that separated them from the driver. The partition rolled down, and the chauffeur inclined his head obediently. “Yes, sir?”

“Take us to the Dragon Flats, my daughter needs a lesson in humility.”

Asami jumped, terror gripping her entire body in a seizure. “ _No_!” She gasped, throwing herself onto her knees in the seatwell in front of her father, eyes wide. “Please, not again. I’ll do whatever we need. I’ll bring Korra to Amon, I swear it, _please_ Father...”

Her father regarded her calmly, his eyes glinting. “No? You don’t need for me to abandon you in a den of alphas like I did the last time you were this close to your heat? When you chose to disobey me by defending that firebender boy?”

Tears rolled down her pale, quivering cheeks as Asami remembered in a rush: harsh splinters in her cheeks, in her knees, clumps of her hair yanked from her head, the aggressive stink of alpha all around her. So much in her shuddered in revulsion and fear that she almost vomited, her stomach rising in an awful surge. Only her wits, her fighting skills, and the grace of all the Spirits had saved her from being assaulted and defiled that night, but the days of starving, being beaten, almost raped, and hiding in the dirty alleyways had scourged her with all the evidence of how little she actually knew about how to survive. She couldn’t do that again, and she knew Hiroshi would drop her in the Dragon Flats in an instant if she didn’t go through with his plan.

He could always breed another heir, but he couldn’t pay off his enormous gambling debts without Amon and his contract, and he had made that excessively clear.

She couldn’t speak with her throat closed around a sob, so she just violently shook her head, keeping her eyes deferential and the back of her neck exposed. Her father clasped his hand around the nape of her neck for a moment, almost threatening to close tighter, to strangle, but then he loosened his grip and slid to her chin, lifting her face. Carelessly, he brushed her hair aside and pushed the jade earring studs back into place, ignoring her slight wince. He sat back and looked out the window, the matter now resolved. “Fix your makeup,” he cautioned her, “there will be reporters at the mansion.”

Asami did as she was told.

_____________________________________________

  
Days passed in the fog. Korra didn’t move much from the stables, where Naga was kept. She slept on the polar bear-dog’s wide, white side, and spent hours roaming the island, slumped in the saddle. Never normally one with a shy appetite, she now refused most food unless Pema begged her, and then she showed little passion for it. Her clothes hung on her frame, and her lank, dirty hair was loose from her signature ponytails. She hadn’t bothered to do them up; thinking of home in the South Pole only made her think of Asami, and that was misery.

Asami had wanted to say something to her when they were departing, but Tenzin had been ushering Korra away toward the Air Temple Island group, and Asami had been swept along with her father, eyes piercing back at the Avatar’s over her bared shoulder. Everything had moved so fast, despite time seeming to slow after Hiroshi’s declaration. Tenzin had been arguing with Tarrlok, their hands waving and gesticulating madly, and the alphas who had a hold of Mako began dragging him away, at which point he finally began to struggle and cry out that he wasn’t attacking anyone, he was trying to warn them, but it was futile. The alphas had him hauled off before he could finish. Bolin was protesting, Meelo had snuck off and broken several things in a row, and Jinora and Ikki were loudly complaining about not being allowed to stay at the party. In all the chaos, Tenzin began herding his family toward the exits, and Hiroshi did the same, but the two parties went in opposite, fuming directions.

When they stepped outside, the flash and bang of the press cameras was blinding. Tenzin had attempted a few calming phrases, to little effect, and Lin Beifong had to step in. The airbender practically pushed Bolin, Korra, his wife, and the children back into their Satomobile, and they’d sped off back to the ferry, and the island beyond. Mako had arrived a few hours later with Lin, battered and bruised but otherwise unharmed, and the eminent war councils had begun, with Tenzin and Lin going into almost immediate sequestration.

They’d encouraged Korra to come along, but she ignored them. She ignored everything for the next few days, even as Bolin and Mako entreated cautiously outside the stables, offering to spar and blow off steam. Mako spent a painful amount of time detailing all the ways in which he was sorry for how he acted, but she only told him she forgave him in a monotone, not being able to summon up any further energy, and he went away wringing his hands, clearly unconvinced.

“Korra?” Tenzin’s questioning, soft voice interrupted her morose reminiscing. “Perhaps you’d like to come into the house for dinner?”

She sniffed herself; she smelled strongly of polar bear-dog. Naga whined, companionably, and she patted her ears as she called back. “I’m not in the mood, Tenzin.”

“I know you aren’t,” Tenzin responded patiently, and she could practically see the sad furrow in his brow. “But there’s news. News that you should hear.”

“What is it?” She sighed, coming to her feet so he could see her over the half-door. Naga nosed under her arm, leaning against her side.

He hesitated, and then responded. “Hiroshi has made an offer. To you, specifically. If you refuse, Amon will begin open war.”

“What’s the offer?” She persisted, feeling her stomach sink as she absently stroked Naga’s head.

Tenzin avoided her eyes. “That’s what I think you should hear in person. And you’ll want to clean up.” He looked at her, briefly. “They’re both here.”

 _Both_. She felt her heart give a painful lurch. She knew what Tenzin meant. Silently, she left the stables and followed Tenzin to the house, wondering what she was in for this time.

After a brief, cold shower, she dressed simply, and did her hair again, half-unconsciously. As she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she stiffened at how clearly hurt she looked, as if she was a kicked pup who’d had a candy stolen. She straightened her shoulders and hardened her face. Asami was an Equalist, and that meant she couldn’t let her guard down. Ever again.

Even steaming cups of jasmine tea couldn’t distill the tension in the air as Korra entered, flanked by Tenzin and Lin, to where Asami and her father waited. It had been previously unanimously decided that Mako should remain behind, and Bolin had chosen to go with him, so it was without her two closest friends that Korra faced the blood royal scent once more, beckoning and whispering into her nostrils, like a flower that had opened only for her. She shuddered, and coughed to cover it, willing herself not to stare at Asami, but of course, she failed. The omega was dressed simply as well; with a demure maroon jacket that buttoned on the side and her hair swept into a proper bun. For one split, seemingly endless second, Asami’s green eyes were soft, begging, asking something of Korra, but what she could not say…and then they hardened again, becoming as stony as the emeralds they resembled.

“Master Airbender, Chief Beifong, Avatar Korra.” Hiroshi rose, greeting each of them with respectful nods. Asami remained seated, and she looked away, her lips tightening as her father spoke. “I am pleased each of you was willing to come and speak here today. I do not wish bloodshed between us.”

Tenzin indicated that they should sit and everyone arranged themselves awkwardly on the couches, taking sips of tea. “I am also pleased that you were willing to discuss peace negotiations,” Tenzin replied, cordially. “No one wants a war, Mr. Sato.”

The industrialist chuckled, and his eyes were glinting flecks of amber. “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘no one’, Amon certainly does.”

At the mention of the name, almost everyone stiffened, exchanging looks, but the Sato elder only continued his mild laugh, drawing their attention back to him. “We may as well say his name. Everyone in the city knows I’ve been selling mecha tanks and Satocycles to him for the better part of a year.” He nodded at the Avatar, his brows inclined. “I didn’t come here to insult your intelligence, I came here to discuss terms.”

“Terms?” Lin growled, her arms flexing in the metal bands that indicated her rank and station (there were many of them). “Why should we discuss terms when you’ve declared sides? When you threaten all-out war at Amon’s behest?”

Hiroshi’s hands spread in a gesture of peace, but his smile was thin and cruel. “I don’t threaten anything, Chief Beifong. It is _your_ side who threatened me, and my daughter, and provoked us to the point at which we are now.”

Tenzin erupted. “Come now, that situation was hardly-“

“Whatever you may attempt to say, Master Airbender,” Hiroshi interrupted smoothly, “has little to no weight in the light of the law. As you yourself should know, the council’s law dictates that an open gesture of aggression during a peace summit is an act of war. And Tarrlok’s banquet was described as, and I quote, ‘a bridge between benders and non-benders alike, to mend the bonds of friendship between us’. Would you not say that was a peaceful gathering?” He tilted his head, mockingly and Korra itched to slap him.

Tenzin sighed, turning to Beifong and Korra with a slump to his shoulders. “He’s right, and I should know; my father wrote the law himself.” He returned his gaze to Hiroshi, who was regarding them all as if they were particularly animated pai sho pieces in a large, masterful game he was playing alone. “What are your terms, Mr. Sato?”

“I think you’ll find them most agreeable.” Hiroshi sat back and his fingers tented. With a jerk of his chin, he indicated Asami beside him. “Firstly, my daughter shall sign a marriage contract and become a prospective mate for the Avatar.”

The shock that rippled through the room was palpable. Korra’s head snapped up and Asami looked at her for a only a single moment before dropping her gaze again and fidgeting slightly in her seat. Tenzin and Lin both had their mouths hanging open.

“What could you possibly have to gain from that?” Lin finally broke the silence, sputtering in confusion. “And why on earth would you want that, anyway? You’re an Equalist, and Korra is the epitome of all benders.”

Hiroshi spread his fingers. “I am not an Equalist so much as an opportunist, Chief. Amon simply offered the best choice at the time. Now I offer you a different choice. My daughter, as you may know, is a blood royal omega, and as such, maintaining her defense during… _delicate_ times…can be rather difficult. Who better to protect my daughter from any unwanted attention than the Alpha of All Alphas?” He indicated Korra.

“Now,” he continued, reaching for the tea on the table and bringing the cup and saucer back to his lap. “That is not to say I don’t have conditions to this agreement, conditions which must be met and agreed to, just as any marriage contract. If my daughter pleases you, I expect you to wed her. And in return, I expect my daughter to be pregnant with an heir within a certain period of time, to ensure the match is consummated and my lineage is secured.”

Korra felt like she was in some kind of bizarre dream. There was no way Hiroshi could be so calm about discussing his own daughter’s potential breeding in front of her; so clinical, as if she was a piece of land or an expensive Satomobile prototype. And yet he was sipping his tea as if that was all that was being discussed. Asami’s hands were stiffly clenched at her sides, but she continued looking down, her body a tightly guarded fortress of unreadable emotions. Tenzin appeared as flabbergasted as Korra felt, but at least he was able to express words. “And in return, you’ll promise to stop manufacturing weapons for the Equalists?”

Hiroshi wagged a finger. “Not so fast. I have other terms to discuss first. I would also like the firebender known as Mako to be banished from Air Temple Island. He must not come within one hundred feet of my Asami. Otherwise I will not believe she can be protected here.”

“ _What_?!” Korra exploded, finally driven to act by her fervent emotions. “That’s ridiculous! Mako is my friend, and my teammate. He wouldn’t hurt Asami, he was trying to protect me.”

Hiroshi turned solemn, amber eyes onto hers. “But Avatar Korra, in trying to protect you, he threatened my daughter’s life and brought us to the situation we currently find ourselves in. Do you blame me for wanting him kept at arm’s length from my precious daughter?”

Tenzin’s eyes flicked to hers in a warning. Hiroshi was baiting, and if she fell for it, he could withdraw his entire offer of terms, and there would be no peace. She took a deep breath. “No. I don’t. I’ll make sure Mako stays off the island.”

“Good.” The smugness on his face was unbearable and Korra’s teeth almost bared as the industrialist took another sip of tea. “Lastly, I propose that Tarrlok take over all relations in terms of Amon on the council, as with Tenzin’s position as mentor to the Avatar, he is hardly considered unbiased. This way I can be assured my business dealings will be monitored fairly, as well as maintain all-important neutrality.”

That was a harder pill to swallow. Tenzin looked as if he wanted to argue, and he nearly did, but a harsh look from Beifong silenced him once more. He nodded, stiffly. “When would you expect these terms to be met?”

“Immediately.” Hiroshi’s face was even. “My daughter can be installed on the island as early as tonight, and I expect your handing of control off to Tarrlok at the next council session, tomorrow afternoon. As for the firebender boy…I don’t see him now so I suggest wherever he is, he stays there.” He rose, setting his cup and saucer back on the table and beckoning to Asami, who followed him silently, like a maroon-colored shadow. “We’ll return to the mansion now and prepare. Once the contract is signed, of course.”

Korra barely remembered putting the pen to paper as it slid in front of her. It seemed absurd; she was signing Asami’s life to hers in a single stroke, but neither of them wanted it. Or at least, not like this. Asami’s signature below hers was in looping red lines, and her pen looked like it was bleeding ragged tears. She caught her eyes one final time over the papers as Hiroshi shuffled them into a binder for the acolytes to take to the records room; Asami had tears in her eyes just as her pen had wept, and for a moment all Korra wanted was to comfort her, to draw her into her alpha’s warmth and let her know that no matter what happened, they would figure it out together….but the moment faded as quickly as it came when Hiroshi’s hand dropped heavily on his daughter’s shoulder. Korra turned away as Asami was led out by her father, and didn’t catch the last gaze that the omega swept over her shoulder.

Finally, when they were alone in the room, Lin slammed her hands frustratedly down on the table of papers, looking at the binder containing the contract. Tenzin slumped heavily onto the couch, head in hands. “Why do I feel like we’ve just been had?” He commented, morosely.

“Because we have. Hiroshi must’ve orchestrated this; all of his terms align perfectly. He gets Mako away from Korra, and Tarrlok in charge of the Amon detail, so no more added muscle on the island and no more of your hesitations, Tenzin. He’s planning something.”

“But why place Asami here? It makes her vulnerable. Not that we would harm her, but Hiroshi doesn’t know that.” Tenzin spoke from between his fingers.

“Asami’s the inside agent. If we disobey any of these terms, she’s there to invoke them, and I’m sure Hiroshi’s hoping for a solid match so that she can sway Korra to whatever he wants.”

The Avatar snorted. “Tough, I’m not touching her. I don’t care what the terms are, he can’t force me to mate his daughter against her will.”

Tenzin nodded supportively. “Succinct and well-put Korra. Hiroshi can’t expect-“

“That’s not an option, genius. Did either of you actually _read_ this contract?” Lin waved the binder at them, eyes rolling in contempt. “You do realize what happens if Korra fails to consummate this match, right?”

Tenzin and Korra shot a look between them, and Korra spoke slowly. “If the match is consummated and Asami gets pregnant, that means we’ll be married, but what happens if-“

“The contract, which you just signed, _dipstick_ , says if you _don’t_ have her belly rounded in three months, the contract is void, the terms are null, and Asami is released from mating with you and gifted to Amon’s Lieutenant, which will mean Hiroshi will shift his entire forces back into production for Amon.” Lin pinched the bridge of her nose. “Tenzin, I thought you told me she could read.”

“What?!” Korra’s mind was racing. “If I don’t….if we don’t…in _three months_?” She groped for a chair behind her and sat down, hard.

“Enough time for a heat cycle. Blood royals get them more often than normal omegas.” Lin supplied. “And if Amon’s Lieutenant is the one to claim the blood royal, the non-benders in this city will see you even less as their alpha than they already do. We’re in a bind here.”

“Oh Spirits.” Tenzin’s face had blanched. “Korra…”

“Don’t say it.” Korra pleaded through clenched teeth. “I can’t hear you talk about my responsibilities as the Avatar. Not right now.”

She turned, and plummeted headlong through the double doors, angry tears spilling from her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consumating the marriage contract doesn't exactly go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Hope you all had a good weekend; I know I did. ;) I've decided to keep up the hectic pace of these updates, but I'll take 'weekends off'. For further...cough..inspiration...you know. 
> 
> Sorry for all the cliffhangers! We're still getting there with plot but next chapter is a smut-fest, I promise. <3

Sunset was melting into the waters of the bay as the ferry made its way across to the island. Asami clutched the railing, looking into the eyes of Avatar Aang as the boat passed below his giant shadow. His face seemed kind, but she was always taught that his kindness was weakness, and she couldn’t find strength in it now. No Avatar would look well on her for what she was coming to do.

“Asami.” Hiroshi’s voice behind her made her shudder and grip the railing harder. He put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at it, the calloused, blunt edges of his fingers, until he forced her to turn. There was a small vial in his other hand, and he tucked it quickly into her palm. “Take it now,” he urged, “before the White Lotus search you at the docks.”

Asami blinked down at the thumb-sized vial of dark, sloshing liquid. She knew, ostensibly, what it was; she’d taken specialized suppressants since her first heat, years ago, but for some reason right now it seemed grossly out of place. “That’s only one dose.” She commented, fingering the stopper. “That won’t last me three months, just a week.”

“You’ll have to contrive a way to return weekly to the city so I can procure you more.” He sighed. “It’s not the best solution, but the healers warned me that if you doubled up on your doses, it would adversely affect your future child-bearing, and we can’t have that. And if you were caught with suppressant at the temple, who knows what the Avatar would do to you….” He spread his hands, allowing her to imagine a myriad of fates. “I’m told she can fire lightning bolts from her fingertips at the slightest provocation. Wouldn’t do to have her catch the plot. So drink up.”

  
She agreed, silently, and unstoppered the vial, downing its bitter contents with a quick toss of her head, trying to ignore how the action made her feel even more miserable, as if she was betraying Korra. Which was ridiculous. _You’re already betraying her._ When it was done she tossed the empty glass into the sea, and winced as the effects made her body cramp. She always hated taking suppressant; for a blood royal like her, it meant a serious condition of unpleasant lassitude, for at least an hour afterwards, while the drug took its effect. She’d need to find a bench to sit on; her legs would be uncooperative for a bit.

Luckily, her father had anticipated her weakness, and snapped a finger, motioning to one of her guards. The beta saluted briskly and rushed off, returning moments later with a small, plush chair. She sank gratefully into it, feeling her limbs slacken and her mind go dull in a kind of gauzy haze, while her father stroked her hair and assured her that they would tell the White Lotus she was seasick and have her recover quietly before letting her make herself presentable for Tenzin and the Avatar. She couldn’t concentrate on that, and let her head loll on her shoulders, shutting her eyes as a wave of cramps rolled from her midsection to her spine and back again.

Hiroshi knelt, putting his hands on her shoulders once more, and she forced herself to open her eyes, even as her vision swam. He would not be forgiving if she couldn’t prove herself more capable than a little bit of suppressant. He nodded when she finally caught his gaze, pleased, and spoke, his voice echoing in her ears as if from far away. “Remember, Asami. Even if the drug fails, and your heat triggers, you are to remember your training.” Each word was punctuated with a sharp, painful squeeze of his nails into her flesh. “Do _not_ let her claim you. You are a _Sato_.”

She nodded, words beyond her capability at that moment, and tried to give him a look of understanding, but another seizure wracked her stomach and she doubled over. Her body always fought the drug; it wanted to remain fertile, to be bred, and the effects of the suppressant were only briefly tethering those natural urges. She hated that. Hated how her insides demanded that she be used for one purpose, when there was so much else in the world that she wanted to do…

At the island, she managed to hold herself upright long enough for the White Lotus to search her, but as soon as the last guard stepped away, she vomited, bringing up her dinner in an awful rush all over the rocky shore. She was humiliated, and embarrassed beyond belief, but at least it helped sell the lie that she was seasick. The guards helped her to her room, and watched as Hiroshi did a perfunctory goodbye, hugging her while trying to keep as much of his body from her soiled clothing as possible. She watched him go dully, hardly registering as the guard who had escorted her to the room explained that Avatar Korra was in the city, at a training session with her pro-bending partners, and wouldn’t be expected back until later that evening, but a wash of muted gratitude came over her when she realized this meant she had a few blissful hours to sleep off the effects of the drug and get herself clean, which she sorely needed.

As the guard left, she took a wobbly step and stripped herself of her clothes. She half-fell, half crumpled to the bed, curling her fists around the sheets that already made her ache. They smelled of Korra. Everything here did. She closed her eyes, hoping sleep would take away the pain from her mind as well as her body.

_________________________________

  
Korra paced, agitated, in the pro-bending arena’s sparring grounds, where she had come to meet Bolin and Mako to share her news. They had taken it about as well as could be expected. A large singe mark in the ceiling dropped ash over the remains of target net, which was smoldering in charred pieces, currently. Bolin hadn’t taken his frustrations out with bending, but rather was sitting morosely on a bench, head in hands, as Mako continued his fuming around the room and Korra strode back and forth like a trapped animal.

“Guys,” he said, wearily, “for the fourth time, I don’t think this is helping.”

Korra threw up her hands, exhasperated. “You know what’s not _helping_? The fact that I have to impregnate an Equalist in three months or the whole city will hate me and Amon will take over.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, there’s that.” Bolin swallowed. “Too. Also.” He looked to his fire ferret desperately, who was gnawing on an old leather training ball. “Pabu, help me out here, buddy?”

“Not to mention I’m banned from the island, so I can’t even help protect Korra from whatever Asami is planning.” Mako raged, stalking around the weight benches in tight, dizzying circles.

Korra rolled her eyes and slapped the firebender’s shoulder roughly, yet tenderly, in the ostrich-horseplay that was common to their little group. “I don’t need you to _protect_ me, Mako, I need you around to be my friend. Asami’s a non-bender, remember? I can definitely take her.” All three blushed at the implications of what the Avatar had just said, and she coughed. “Not like…take her….oh for fuck’s sake, you know what I mean.”

“Do you?” Mako questioned, his amber eyes locked onto Korra’s with serious intent. “I know how excited you were about her before you knew…but don’t trust Asami just because she’s pretty. I know what she’s like.” He finished darkly.

“You _are_ going to have to tell me what happened between you two eventually.” Korra prodded, but Mako only grunted and Bolin caught her eyes in a don’t-go-there look. She sighed, conceding. “Fine, but you do realize I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t, right? One way or another, I’ve got to get her pregnant or the deal is off and war is on.”

“I know! _Argh_ , that’s what’s so frustrating!” Mako punched again and a gout of flame singed the remains of the target net once more. “Hiroshi played us all!” His shoulders slumped. “Even me.” He admitted tiredly.

“You guys are both assuming Asami’s in on it.” Bolin pointed out from his bench, where he was idly lifting Pabu on an earth disk, levitating the tiny mustelid. “But what if she’s not?”

“Bolin, trust me. You didn’t date her. She’s in on it. Whatever her father wants, that’s what Princess Sato does.” Mako snarled, acidly, and the venom in his tone made Korra wince, despite her conflicted feelings. She thought he probably had a point, however. Asami was far too clever to not know what her father was up to, and to be involved with it….she groaned and came to slump down on Bolin’s bench head in hands.

“I just wish I didn’t like her so much.” She admitted, more to herself than anything, but Bolin’s hand came to comfortingly rest on her back. “Everything’s gotten so crazy, but back at the banquet…I could’ve sworn she was feeling what I was. And you can’t fake the scent. She wanted it, at least.”

Mako shifted uncomfortably and Bolin’s eyebrows waggled. “Ohhh so you guys…?”

“Got interrupted.” Korra supplied for him, avoiding Mako’s eyes. “But I know what I smelled, okay? It’a an alpha thing.”

The beta brothers exchanged glances. She knew her alpha status was somewhat of a sore spot for Mako, who didn’t appreciate the comments he’d gotten for dating her, as a beta male, but Bolin had made it clear that they were past that now. She hoped she didn’t have to soothe Mako’s ego again. It seemed like this whole situation was just setting his teeth constantly on edge.

“Doesn’t mean anything.” Mako insisted, finally, after a poignant pause. “Asami got wet for me too, doesn’t mean-“

But that statement brought something out in Korra, something that she had no idea was lurking within her, just below the surface. She _growled_ and was off the bench in an instant, pressing her alpha scent into Mako’s personal space and raising the hackles of hair on the back of her neck. Jealousy had surged through her veins and all she could think about was her omega laying below Mako, getting _excited_ for him, and that was enough to make her forget about bonds of friendship for a single, white hot instant before she blinked and backed away, remembering herself.

“Mako, I’m-“

“No, Korra, I’m sorry.” They both sighed, avoiding each other’s eyes. “I shouldn’t say stuff like that, not with the position you’re in. I’m sorry. It can’t be easy.” To emphasize his point he subtly shifted to display the back of his neck, bowing to her dominance.

“It isn’t.” Korra ran a hand through her hair, pulling it free of the ponytails. “But that doesn’t give me the right to alpha-out on you. I’m sorry, to both you guys. I think I’d better head back and try to get some rest, so we can not think about this tomorrow and just practice.” She looked pleadingly into both of her friends eyes seeking, and finding, understanding there. Mako nodded and clapped a hand sympathetically on her shoulder.

“I know I’m banned from coming to see you, but let me know if there’s anything I can do here.” He offered.

“Count me in for that too!” Bolin called, sending Pabu on the clay disk whirling around him in a spiral as he came to sling his arms over each of their shoulders. “We’ll figure this out guys, like we do everything. As a team! Well…” He reddened. “…n-not the breeding part, that’s…um….Korra’s job, I guess…”

Korra flushed. “Yeah, I got that, thanks.”

But do I really? She asked herself glumly as she made her way out of the pro-bending arena. With marriage prospect omegas, she hardly paid them a second thought, most of the time. Periodically, when aroused enough to form an erection, she’d call on their dormitory and have one of the prettier ones for the night, but the thought of doing that to Asami was both lust-inspiring and terrifying in one stroke. How would she react if Korra ordered her to her knees? Korra didn’t know Asami all that well yet, but she already knew the answer: not well. Not well _at all_. She gulped. She had little to no practice in seduction, and her amorous fumblings against various walls with Asami had only ever been enough to make her feel overwhelmed, not in control as the alpha, the Avatar. She didn’t know whether to embrace that feeling or run from it.

Tenzin greeted her at the docks, his red and orange robes swaying around his lean form, sternly silhouetted against the rise of the moon. It was already late, and she’d delayed too long at the arena. She could tell exactly what the airbender was thinking before she even stepped off the ferry.

“Yes, I’m late, I know.” She grumbled. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Korra, you don’t have to consummate the contract _tonight_ , you know.” Tenzin offered, tenderly. “Lin and I didn’t mean to put an immediate timeline on you. It’s just important that it happens sooner rather than later, so that you can be married and the weight will be off your shoulders on two fronts.” He gave her a soft look. “Have you considered this may not be so bad? After all, you were interested in courting Asami as your prospective mate before all of this…”

Korra cringed. The idea was now somewhat painful. “I know Tenzin, but….now, after everything that’s happened, we haven’t really talked about our feelings and I don’t know what to think.” She looked glumly up at the Air Temple. “I don’t even know if she’s okay with any of this.”

“She looked like you when she came off the ferry a few hours ago,” Tenzin chuckled, “and I’m told she was so ‘seasick’ she had to lay down. I think you two have more in common than you’d think. Maybe you should just try to talk to her tonight.” He laid a comforting hand on her arm and she looked at him.

“Tenzin,” She began, haltingly. “I know I’m not the best pupil or anything, but…you’re really helpful. Thanks.”

Gently, her teacher began steering her up the steps and into the temple. “I do what I can. No one could have ever predicted this scenario, that’s for sure.”

She washed and prepared herself in clean clothes before taking a few minutes to practice some calming breaths. Asami’s suite of rooms was far grander than any given to the marriage prospect omegas, and she was situated just outside their dormitory, under twenty-four hour White Lotus guard, as stipulated by her father’s agreement. She nodded to each of them as they let her pass, and put her hand on the door to knock, before drawing it back. Maybe she shouldn’t knock. This was her home, after all, and she was the Avatar. _The alpha doesn’t knock_ , she told herself firmly, and slid the door open.

Asami looked up from where she was seated…on the bed, wearing a silky purple-pink nightdress under a sheer overrobe. The mere sight gave Korra both a swelling, lusty feeling in her clit and a nervous lurch in her belly, all in one fell swoop. Her future marriage prospect was reading a book, containing several diagrams of what appeared to be building schematics, and it was placed to one side as she rose.

“Korra…” She wet her lips. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” She cast her gaze down, flicking her eyes to the floor. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted-“

“I want to talk to you.” Korra interrupted, and then blushed as Asami’s eyes swept back up to hers in askance. “I’m sorry.” Get back control, her inner alpha urged, and her shoulders straightened. “I need to know how you feel about all this, because you and I were courting, and now things are…different…but I need to make sure this is what you want before we….” She trailed off again and cursed herself for not coming right out to say it.

“I want this.” Asami offered, but didn’t say anything further in regards to her feelings. Instead, she flicked her eyes away again, and seemed to be dealing with her own inner battle, just as Korra was. “I just…um…maybe we should move to the bed?” She motioned for Korra to sit next to her. “I think you’d be more comfortable…?”

The question was awkward but Korra took it in good faith. She drew in a long breath, and then sat down next to Asami, turning to face her. She took in the draping silk of the robe over her nightdress, clinging and yet gaping in all the right places, allowing her exposure to Asami’s endlessly long, moon-pale legs. She took in the way Asami’s hair tumbled free over her shoulders, and caught the light of the lanterns, absorbing it into its glossy black waves. Most of all, she took in Asami’s powerful, lust-addling scent, that tore holes through her resistance as easily as metal through butter, and it made her senses swim with memories and desires. She remembered waves at midnight, cresting with blue-black ice chunks, and simmering fires where the tribes gathered and danced to speak to the Spirits. She smelled the glamour and excitement of Republic City, somehow impossibly able to scent the way the golden lights of the arena danced on the waters of the bay. She smelled home, and freedom, and yet also the heady, glorious allure of the new, blending into her old world. She didn’t know what to make of it, and confusion fought with arousal in her brain.

She still didn’t know if this was just a blood royal thing; the only exposure she’d had to one previous to this was Katara, and as fondly as she felt about the old waterbender, it certainly wasn’t like this; she hardly ever noticed Katara’s scent, as age tended to dull all status offerings. Korra knew blood royal omegas were the rarer of the two, but blood royal alphas could be more common, and an alpha of that type was said to have an almost irresistible pull. They could often sway omegas away from mate bonds, even if they’d had pups, and had intense pheromones that could intimidate other alphas for miles around. She’d never met one of those either, but if their scent was the polar opposite of Asami’s, she didn’t want to.

She shuddered, internally resisting the call to _claim_ and _mount_ that Asami’s scent seemed to be singing, and forced herself to look at the omega again. The older girl was giving her a look that indicated she knew exactly what she was thinking about, and with a quick shift of her emerald eyes, Korra inwardly berated herself to discover that she’d already started to swell. Her pants had a not-insignificant bulge.

They both looked at it for a long time, it felt like, to Korra’s shame and somewhat-humiliating arousal. The bulge was definitely getting bigger by the time Asami raised her gaze back to Korra’s eyes and wet her lips once more. “Maybe we should start by just…kissing?” She offered, almost shyly.

 _Kissing, I can do that_. Korra leaned in on instinct, closing her eyes, and was relieved to meet Asami’s warm lips, tasting the night in her mouth as she slipped her tongue inside to play with the omega’s, slippery heat making her rise further to meet the fabric of her trousers. They kissed softly at first, but with rising intensity as she lifted her hands from her lap to pull Asami closer, to wind in her hair and release the perfume. Asami’s mouth tasted like cool grey fog rising off the bay, and her tongue was a sleek seal, diving in and out of the waves they were both drowning in, falling into each other like they had ceased to be separate anymore. The heat of the omega’s body against her own made her nipples peak and sent a delicious fire racing through her veins to the tip of her cock. There was a thud and a pulse to the inside of her body that was maddening, aching and demanding more.

Asami broke the kiss first, lips so red and puffy that Korra almost leaned right back in for more, but she stopped herself as Asami drew the tie of her robe open, pushing it down off her shoulders, exposing them bare beneath thin straps of her nightgown, and revealing the tops of her creamy breasts. She kissed Korra again, putting her hands into the alpha’s hair and touching her face, breathlessly, as if she was fixated on touching her, being as close as possible. Korra helped her draw her own shirt over her head, and then Asami was laying kisses on the tops of her breasts, covered by the thin band, and she was lost, fisting her hands in Asami’s hair as the omega moaned into her skin. She pulled at the nightgown, insisting, but Asami batted her hands away and moved down, caressing the rippling plane of her stomach, teasing the muscles there with her nails, and cupped her cock through the fabric, feeling the girth and length of it.

Korra let out a low groan, and thrust upwards into Asami’s palm, unable to help herself. It felt so good to have the heat of her hand there, and the exploratory squeezes and strokes felt like a taste of heaven, heavy with the promise for more. She gripped the omega’s wrist, not sure if she wanted to stop her or encourage her, but Asami made the choice too difficult, seemingly unable to stop touching Korra’s cock through the fabric of her pants. Groaning, Korra let her hand go, and raised hers to cup the proud, high rise of Asami’s perfect little breasts in her rough hands, thumbs rolling over her stiffening nipples. She was rewarded with a small, breathy noise. Asami’s hand released her length (which made her let out a jerky moan in both frustration and relief) and shot to her breast band, pulling it over Korra’s messy head as her ponytails tumbled loose. Her breasts bounded free, and Asami’s wondering gaze was all over her, followed quickly by her mouth as she leaned in to pepper kisses around Korra’s brown nipple, sucking it into her mouth.

The Avatar had never felt pleasure this intense in all her young life. She had never burned so sweetly along her length to be inside, to _fill_ , and her instincts took over. She pulled Asami up off of her nipples, and forced her back by her shoulders, none-too-gently, until the omega lay back on the bed, knees raised. Korra pulled herself up to shrug out of her pants and slid her shorts down as well in one smooth motion, allowing her throbbing cock to swing free into the blessed relief of the air. She rolled to her knees, and moved between Asami’s legs, as the omega drew herself up on her elbows to see her nakedness.

She felt vulnerable in a stinging, heart-thumping moment; being a female alpha had its perks and its drawbacks, and sometimes she felt self-conscious about the duality of her body. This was one of those times. Her hands moved to cover her cock, hovering over it for a second, but then she steadied herself. Asami was looking at her openly with such beauty in those green depths that it felt okay, everything felt safe. _I feel so safe with you_. The whisper came back to her ears as if from far away, when in reality the carriage ride had only been a few days ago. She drew her hand back, and put herself on display, kneeling before Asami like a willing lamb led to a sacrificial altar.

Asami was biting her lip, and there were tears welling in her eyes. She looked up at Korra and for a brief second the Avatar could see something dizzying, galaxy-wide and bright as a supernova. For just a moment, Korra saw a world beyond everything that separated them, in which there was just Korra and Asami, two people in love…but then an emerald wall slammed down, and Asami dropped her eyes. To Korra’s dawning and sudden bitter realization, the omega was scooting backwards away from her, and she scrambled off the bed, backing away towards the door to her bathroom. _What are you doing?_ Her brain screamed, but her voice failed her and she just stared, torn between confusion and despair. _Do you not-_

“I’m sorry.” Asami croaked, her voice strangely loud compared the empty silence of Korra’s breaking heart. “I….I can’t.” She turned the knob and fled, tears streaming from her face, as the door slammed shut behind her, the harsh sound breaking Korra of her trance.

 _Asami doesn’t want you. She doesn’t want you_. The voice grew louder and louder until its mocking tone was all the alpha could hear. Her throat constricted and her vision blurred as she threw her clothes back on, hastily knocking pillows to the floor as she threw herself off the bed. She needed to get out of this room; the air in it as if it was burning her alive. Once she was dressed, she pushed out of the doors and passed the shocked guards. She didn’t care what they would gossip about, she didn’t care about anything except for getting as far away as possible from the scent that was now torturing her lungs.

 _Marriage contract be damned_ , Korra decided, fleeing for her room as tears stung her eyes. _I’m never even going to look at her again, let alone touch her. Let Hiroshi do his worst._

______________________________

  
On the other side of the bathroom door, Asami slid to the floor in a weeping, tumbled mess, berating herself. _What is wrong with you? You need to go back out there and do your duty!_ One voice chided, sounding remarkably like her father, while another, deeper, quieter voice told her that she needed to go back out there to take the pain out of Korra’s eyes, to soothe the insecurity and hurt she’d seen there as she’d made her mad dash for the door. _You made her think she isn’t wanted, but you do want her, you do_ , the voice whispered, insistently. _You can’t let her think that she isn’t beautiful to you_.

Korra’s nakedness had affected her in a way that was something almost impossible to describe. She’d held herself there, between Asami’s trembling thighs, kneeling as if in prayer, and the hesitation of her body told such an honest story, more than her Avatar swagger and natural charm ever could. The way that she had been offering herself, so open, so willing to unburden her soul…that was too much for Asami to bear, knowing she could never do the same. Knowing that if she were to look at Korra for much longer, she’d blurt out every hint of a plan that they had, and the Avatar would _hate_ her, hate her for who she was inside, and that was too much to even consider thinking about.

She felt the force of Korra slamming her way out of the bedroom, and her head fell back against the door, eyes squeezing against her tears. Asami didn’t think it was possible to feel worse than taking suppressant, but this was a close second.

Days passed after their failed attempt at consummation, and gossip had spread like wildfire through the temple. Acolytes discussed the Avatar’s virility or possible lack thereof in hushed whispers in the halls, and speculation was rampant that Asami had spurned her on the grounds of impotence or some other embarrassing issue. After all, who wouldn’t immediately mate a blood royal? All of the rumors made Asami’s brief forays around the island deeply uncomfortable, rife as they were with blatant staring and sudden silences when she rounded a corner on a group of people, so she had become a hermit in her suite of rooms. She spent most of her day sitting curled on a padded bench in a nook beside a large, round window, staring out across the bay to the cheery lights of the city.

The weather also seemed to reflect her mood, and the skies were stormy, threatening rain practically every day. Unfortunately, this also meant the Avatar had less to do outside, and with choppy waters, the ferry wasn’t often running, so sparring sessions in the city were out of the question. This meant Asami often heard the Avatar stalking past the door of her suite, sending the thin frame rattling, as she headed for the dormitory beyond, footsteps as heavy as thunder. She would emerge a short while later, with much quieter, calmer footfalls, and the reason for this was obvious: the marriage prospect omegas were housed in the dormitory just ahead of Asami’s door. She’d heard and seen a few of them, in giggling groups of two and three, heading back to their rooms after exercising or eating, and it perplexed her as to their role alongside her own, but now she understood. In place of rutting her frustrations out on Asami, Korra was working them out on other omegas. The idea filled her with both longing and jealous fury, and she warred between two emotions before she made up her mind.

The next day, when she heard the gaggle of omegas returning to their quarters, she stepped out from her doors, a determinedly friendly smile fixed on her face. “Hi,” Asami offered, feeling stupidly shy.

A group of four female omegas regarded her back, stopped in their conversation. One of them, a short brunette with charmingly wide leaf-green eyes was giving her a cautious smile in return, and that was encouraging. She didn’t have much experience talking to other women. Her father had made sure her schooling was mostly private, so she’d had few friends as a girl, too few to really speak of.  “I’m Asami.” She introduced herself, holding her hand out. “I’m the new-“

“We _know_ who you are.” The omega who had spoken so acidly was a dark-haired, pale Fire Nation girl with a striking resemblance to Asami herself, but shorter and with more generous curves. She had her arms folded over her chest and didn’t look overly impressed. The green-eyed brunette with the friendly smile shot the pale girl a sympathetic look and tried to reach for her shoulder, but she only sniffed at the gesture and swept into the dormitories past Asami, followed by a flanking pair of Earth Kingdom brunettes and leaving Asami with the remaining omega alone in the hallway.

“Sorry about that.” The friendlier girl smiled again, and Asami couldn’t help but smile back; she was cute and her grin was infectious. “Rin’s kind of _into_ the Avatar, and she sees you as her main competition. I keep telling her; there’s seven of us...well, eight, now, counting you, and we’re _all_ competition, so why not just ignore it and be friends? But she doesn’t see things that way.” The verdant-eyed omega stuck her hand out to meet Asami’s, and her handshake was warm and reassuring. “I’m Opal, by the way. I’m the only airbender in the group.”

“Really?” Asami didn’t have to fake her interest; airbenders were extremely rare. “I hadn’t met any other than Master Tenzin. I thought there weren’t anymore of you, except for him and his children.”

Opal shrugged. “We’re rarer than most, but not as rare as a blood royal.” She shot Asami a playful glance and once again, she found herself warming to the other omega. “Rin could hardly stand me for the thought that she was just a plain firebender and I might be more interesting to Korra, but now she hates you instead, so I ought to be thanking you. See I’m not really that into female alphas; my parents want me to be here so I can help the cause, essentially, but Korra’s an old family friend so it’s _weird_.”

They shared a wry laugh. Asami shifted on her feet. The question she had in mind was a delicate one. “If you don’t mind my asking..” She hesitated.

Opal guessed for her. “You want to know what Korra’s like in bed before you consummate? Well, I can’t help you there; she’s never chosen me, thank the Spirits. She didn’t show an interest in any of us, really, except for a few days ago after your first night here.” Asami blushed, but Opal either didn’t notice or had the good grace not to remark upon it. “Since then she’s mostly gone for Rin, which doesn’t help her ego problem much.”

Asami had to raise an eyebrow. The Fire Nation girl had resembled her so closely that it was not a stretch to assume that the Avatar was thinking about her, even after her rejection. She didn’t know whether to be jealous or touched by that fact, so she settled on jealous. “I’m sure that’s fun,” she sympathized.

Opal laughed gaily. “Oh it gets really fun when you’re trying to relax on a futon and Rin’s right there moaning around Korra’s cock. _So_ awkward.”

This time Asami couldn’t hide her red flush. “Wait…don’t you have any privacy?”

The airbender omega shrugged again, unconcerned. “Oh we do, but the alpha doesn’t like to wait, generally. She’s…” Opal hesitated, and her eyes shot to Asami. “She can be kind of rough. Rin and the other girls she uses generally just try to make it easy on themselves and go wherever she wants.” There was a harsh, unnaturally sarcastic bark of laugher from the easy-going other girl. “Alphas aren’t _great_ at giving pleasure, after all.”

That was something Asami knew all too well, and her face must’ve showed it, despite her deepest walls. She’d never figured Korra for that type of alpha, from the gentle way she’d let Asami set the pace, but the marriage prospect omegas seemed to be a different case, almost as if she considered them bed slaves. That gave her significant pause. 

Opal spied her horrified look, and hurried to reassure her. “Oh no, don’t worry! Rin wants it, they all kind of do. Being bred by the Avatar would mean she’d be her mate, and live in the lap of luxury here on the island, ordering all the acolytes around. She’d love that. It’s too bad Korra never even tries to fuck her; she can’t get pregnant from her mouth.” Opal shot her a sly, teasing glance. “I think that’s why she’s so afraid of a blood royal on her turf. She knows when you go into heat Korra won’t be able to resist.”

 _Except I won’t go into heat. I’m in no danger while you take all the risk of being tied to a selfish alpha who doesn’t love you_. Asami’s lips twitched. “But she’s rough with you? With the girls she picks, I mean?” She persisted. “And are there other girls who don’t want to be here, too?”

Opal’s eyes swept down, and that was all the answer she needed.

That night, when Korra made her usual thudding journey towards the door to the omega dormitory, Asami stepped out to intercept her, Opal at her side. The younger omega’s heart was thudding in her chest, and Asami could feel it behind her back, but she squared her shoulders, hoping to reassure her newfound friend.

“Korra, we need to talk.” Her voice rang out stridently in the emptiness of the hall. She folded her arms around her chest. “You’ve been going to the omega dorms every night. Are you getting satisfied?” The anger rose in her tone before she could stop herself; she really was jealous, she realized in a white heat instant.

The Avatar surveyed her cooly, her eyes raking possessively over her form, and her lip curled. “Well, since I can’t seem to find satisfaction _elsewhere_ …” She let her words trail off deliberately and gave a smug shrug of her shoulders.

Asami wanted to slap the smirk off of her face. “So you just go and throat-fuck some omega who looks just like me?” She challenged, taking a step forward. Opal took in a deep breath behind her back.

  
“What do you propose I do?” Korra’s nostrils flared and she too, was taking a step forward. “ _You_ rejected me, remember? I’m just trying to get my frustrations out on someone willing.”

“Willing? Oh, that’s rich!” Asami threw her head back in a bitter laugh. “They’re all under contract, same as I am. Some of them may like being used, sure, but you can’t tell me you’re at all interested in their pleasure, or their _willingness_.”

Korra flushed in shame and anger, her fists clenching. _That hit close to home_ , Asami observed, feeling the tides turn in her favor. The Avatar rounded on Opal, then, directing her fury towards the airbender, who held herself firm under the intensity of her gaze. “Opal, you don’t have to go along with her. If she put you up to this-“

“She didn’t.” Opal leveled her steely eyes back at the alpha. “I agree with her, Korra. This has to stop. Rin may like it, but that doesn’t mean you’re using her any less. And some of the other girls…” she swallowed, “myself included, aren’t going to take it anymore from you.”

One omega challenging an alpha was rare enough on its own, but two or more…If this got out, Korra’s potency would be even more under question than it was. Asami could sense desperation in the Avatar, and she cleared her throat, putting a hand in between Korra and Opal.  “I have a proposition for you.”

Korra looked at her with such blazing fury that she almost lost her nerve, but continued, even as part of her cried out to feel such hatred from the woman she almost-loved. “Instead of misusing these omegas, you will release them all to their homes, albeit on a contingency contract to allow them to return if I don’t conceive. That should be enough of a guarantee for you." 

The Avatar interrupted her, snarling. “And I suppose you want me to just be celibate while we ride out the three months until your father’s little _clause_ comes into effect? Just what you-“

“No,” Asami cut in, smoothly. “I expect you to use me instead.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami follows through on her promise to Korra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING for dubious consent here, and I do mean dubious. Korra is NOT looking for consent, Asami expressly said to use her, and that is essentially what happens. She is not going to be gentle, and this is not lovemaking, at all. These two have a lot to go through with each other to get to that point, but if you’ve read some of my other fics, you’ll know I love to write sweet fluffy love scenes, so never fear; we will get there. Korra is just feeling very rejected right now, and Asami is pretty hurt and confused herself, and they’re about to take that out on each other. 
> 
> Vicious Smut Incoming.

The silence in the hallway was absolutely deafening, as if a bomb had gone off. Opal looked worriedly from Korra’s stunned face to Asami’s finely-sculpted jaw, set in a determined line. Without realizing it, the younger omega was releasing calming pheromones, and the air was thick with the warring scents; the hot, angry stink of challenged-but-confused alpha, bittersweet cinnamon fire of the hackled blood royal, and a subtle, grey-heather scent of panicked omega, trying to smooth things over in accordance with her instinctive nature. For a moment everyone simply breathed, and eventually Asami watched Korra’s fists unclench.

For a long moment, alpha Avatar and blood royal omega simply looked at each other. There was a wealth of rage in Korra’s eyes; anger at being interrupted from her breeding rights, aggrieved misery at Asami for rejecting her, and vitriol at being challenged. Underneath, Asami could see a blue wave of confusion, lust, and sadness all roiling together like a maelstrom. Part of her longed, _ached_ , really, to step to the alpha and soothe the worry in her troubled eyes with a soft hand to her brow, a kiss to her cheek. Asami knew it would be so easy, so deadly easy to just give in to her feelings and be the Avatar’s mate. If only it wasn’t so hard.

“You realize what you’re offering?” Korra’s rough voice broke the silence. She tilted her chin, and the arrogance was making a slow, seeping return to her posture. “I won’t be gentle with you. Like I was before.” Her lip curled as if she hated the thought and something in Asami cringed under that hatred as if being lashed.

She forced herself to square back at the alpha. _Reveal nothing_ , she told herself, _be cold and be a Sato. This is easier, for her and for me. This way, no one gets hurt except for me, and I can take it. I’ve done it before_. “That’s fine,” she answered back, eyes flashing. “Why bother with pretense anymore? We both know what my purpose is here, so there’s no need for you to act like you care about anything other than breeding me.”

Hurt splashed across Korra’s face, and for a moment Asami wanted to take back her bitter words, to draw them from the air as if they were physical things that she had created. She felt the ricochet of emotions well inside of her, and the pain in Korra’s eyes overrode her training once more. _I’m sorry_ , she wanted to say, _I know you don’t really-_

But Korra’s mouth had snapped back into a thin, angry line, and her eyes hardened once more. “Fine. If I that’s how it’s gonna be, then fine.” She snarled. “Come to my bedroom. Five minutes.” The Avatar whirled on her heel and stalked away down the corridor.

The two omegas watched her go, with bated breath, until she rounded a corner and was gone, out of eyesight and earshot. Opal let out a long sigh. “Well,” she moaned, “that went about as well as could be expected.”

Asami closed her eyes. The emotional turmoil within her was too much, and she slumped, a little, feeling her rabid energy draining. _Spirits, what have I done? I’m really going to have to do this now, and she hates me_... Opal immediately sensed her distress through the natural nesting bond that often emerged from omegas kept in groups; Asami had never experienced it before now, of course, but she could actually feel the smaller airbender’s heartbeat and the pulse of her pheromones was comforting, relaxing.

“Asami, are you okay?” Opal questioned, her warm hand sliding over Asami’s fingers. “What you did for us…for me…that’s huge, but you know you don’t have to necessarily be the one to go through with this, right? Rin would be happy to step in instead, ecstatic, even, and-“

“Opal, I’m fine.” She cut the younger omega off with what she hoped was a resolute smile. It was almost too much to have the airbender treating her like this was an entirely altruistic decision, when the fact was, the thought of Rin with Korra gave her inner omega a jealous savagery, willing to do anything to stake the claim that her logical brain knew she shouldn’t be making. “I’m okay with this.” She indicated her chin down the hallway. “It’s time that stuck up spoiled brat learns that she can’t boss around all omegas to get her way.”

Opal smiled. “I have to say, it works out great for me. My Aunt Lin has been furious at my mom for signing me up for this, and she’d be delighted to learn I’m off the hook. And with her blessing, maybe I can stick around here to finally get some proper airbending training, like I wanted all along.” She shot Asami a grateful glance, and her slim fingers gave Asami’s one last squeeze as they departed her grip. “Good luck.” She offered a final blessing, as Asami turned to follow Korra down the corridor.

The blood royal couldn’t muster a response, but she smiled back over her shoulder quickly, and ducked after Korra, scenting the alpha’s musk of frustration, rage, and definitive, undeniable arousal. It quickened her pace, almost against her conscious thought, and dampened the scant fabric of her panties. This, being used, she decided, would be easier to bear than the gentle lovemaking that Korra had originally intended for their first night together. This was safer, in fact, because she wasn’t sure that she could keep her true feelings from her eyes if Korra were to look at her the way she’d looked at her before. Her father would certainly rage at her for dispersing the omegas; suppressants weren’t failsafe, after all, and she was supposed to be keeping Korra at arm’s length, not plunging headlong into some kind of body trade. But his wroth was nothing compared to the misery she felt at the idea of letting Korra fall for her only to hand her over to Amon, so it was worth it. This way, if it was purely sexual, perhaps everything would be easier to take. For everyone.

She knew she was lying to herself. None of this would be easy.

The Avatar’s suite doors were slid slightly ajar, but Asami still felt the hesitant urge to knock. Then, she remembered the imperiousness of Korra’s entry into her bedroom, and she shook herself, readying her insides to become steel and allow her the strength to do what she needed to do. _I’m not going to knock_ , she decided, pushing the shoji screen to one side to allow her entry, and slid it firmly behind her again, which alerted Korra to her presence.

The Avatar emerged from the bathroom, and her eyes were in slits. The robe she’d tied around her body did nothing to hide her sleek, well-muscled form, compact with curves in all the right places, and Asami swallowed, feeling desire streamroll through a portion of her resolve before she managed to re-square her shoulders, gripping the door behind her as if it would give her a safety net, when she knew she’d have to leave it, sooner or later.

She opened her mouth to say something, and then sharply closed it again. She didn’t know what to say. Her hands fidgeted on the door, and she was suddenly, blushingly aware of the fact that she’d left her robe in her room and her nightgown was almost sheer, exposing the hardened tips of her nipples to the Avatar’s powerful, haughty gaze. She released the door, finally, and stepped forward, hands knotting at her sides, wavering between stripping her nightgown off right there and striding up to kiss the prideful sneer off of Korra’s lips.

Korra made the decision for her, and it wasn’t either of those options. “Get on the bed,” she ordered, and her voice was a husky growl that sent shivers through Asami’s heated skin. “On your knees.”

The command sent a thrill through her inner omega, which shamed her and aroused her in one fell stroke. She didn’t know whether to obey or snarl back that she wasn’t about to be told what to do like some obedient breeding cow, but desire snapped her jaw shut and she simply nodded, stiffly. The walk to the bed was humiliating enough, with Korra’s eyes on her, but as she knelt on the thick, warm fur of the animal hides covering the bedspread, she was deeply aware of the curve of her backside silhouetted against the purple silk of her nightgown, and the way her exposed skin prickled with rising hairs under the dark stare.

Korra walked around the bed like a stalking animal, examining her from all three sides that she could reach, without speaking or reaching to touch her. Asami resisted the urge to cover her breasts with her folded arms, and instead kept them resolutely folded in her lap, with her eyes demurely downcast. She watched the Avatar’s agitated pacing beneath the dark fringe of her lashes, and felt herself releasing arousal pheromones almost by instinct; as if her body wanted to calm the alpha with the knowledge that she was wanted. It made sense on a biological level, but it was hell for Asami’s blushing once Korra caught wind, nostrils flaring to take in her lust.

“Take your clothes off.” The next command issued from the alpha in a rumble. Asami had anticipated this, but the feeling of lifting the hem of her nightdress to expose her naked body to the cool air was heightened by the intense, all-too-personal stare of the Avatar. As she swept the fabric over her head, allowing her hair to shake free, she once again had to resist the urge to cover herself as Korra took in a harsh breath and stilled her incessant pacing, drawing to a stock-standstill as Asami lifted her hips to slide her panties down over her legs until she was fully bare. Their eyes met in a flashing instant, and Asami could see how affected by her nakedness the alpha was. The ardor there was startling, almost blindsiding, and Asami had to swallow back a moan before she was even touched.

Then, painfully, Korra’s eyes dropped from her and she moved away again, and her body language suggested rejection in a way that made Asami’s heart cry out. She wanted to wrap herself in the sheets and hide from the humiliation, the burning shame that she felt, and the sudden guilt of the realization that this must’ve been exactly how Korra had felt, naked and offering herself on the bed…only to have Asami scramble away like the sight of her was disgusting. Korra could do the same to her now, and it would scar her forever, she knew it. It would break her heart. Asami lowered her head and she fought back a sob, feeling her teeth clench against the impulse.

It was no more than what she deserved, but still, Korra didn’t seem to be as concerned with revenge as Asami had thought. She lifted her head to hear the sound of the robe hitting the floor, and her breath caught in her throat to see the revealed length of Korra’s olive-toned skin, her bountiful breasts cresting over a rippling plane of abs and her sharply-defined hip muscles cutting down to where her cock was half-risen, the smooth skin of the substantial head looking deliciously wet with early dribbles of pre-come. She hadn’t really allowed herself a good look the first time, so now, as Asami’s eyes trained wantonly on the thickening shaft, she could see that Korra was blessed with both length and girth, with a flared head that bobbed under its own weight. Her lips suddenly needed moistening, and Korra’s eyes darted to her tongue. _Oh Spirits I want that in me_ , she thought, and a needy shudder passed through her before she could stifle it.

Korra seemed to know what she was thinking. This time, putting herself on display was under the Avatar’s control, and the anxiety was whipping the omega into a nervous frenzy. Korra stretched, languidly, and her hand skated along the firm groupings of muscles that bunched under her skin as she slid it down to her cock, wrapping around the base. She drew her hand up, lazily pumping to the tip, and Asami was humiliated by the omega whine that sneaked from her throat before she could stop herself. Korra smirked, and it wasn’t a kind expression, but that only aroused Asami more, to her desperate shame.

She felt the bed creak and suddenly the Avatar was behind her, and the heat of her breath splayed across the back of Asami’s exposed shoulders. She tensed, and made to turn, but Korra grabbed her hips and held her still, and the possessive gesture almost made her fall forward in submissive relief. Fight it as her mind may, her body knew better; the strongest alpha she’d ever known was here, behind her, and everything in her ached to tilt her hips up, press her face to the mattress and present herself to be mounted. _What is wrong with me? I’m not even in heat_ , _so quit acting like it_. Asami’s inner, screaming mind tried to out-shout her omega’s howls but it was useless.

A sudden, insistent press to her hip silenced her mind and made her gasp in one motion. The silky, slippery heat of Korra’s cock was rubbing against her ass, sliding while Korra’s hands held her still, and the feeling of it, of being forced to be quiescent and still for the Avatar’s pleasure…she was overwhelmed. Asami couldn’t help the moan that rolled from her, nor the needy, backwards grind of her hips, trying to offer Korra more pressure as a flood of want escaped her, drenching her inner thighs. Behind her she felt Korra still the rocking of her hips and look down, and, knowing the sight of her arousal was as evident as her scent, she bit her lip, forcing back the urge to lift herself higher.

“You’re so wet already.” Korra stated the obvious, but her voice had lost none of its alpha timbre, and Asami shuddered. “You want this. Want me.”

She nodded, helplessly, lost in the tight grip of the alpha’s fingers digging into her pale hips and the soft, teasing brush of her cock. It was a surprise then, when Korra’s hands left her hips and moved to her hair, fisting it and sharply jerking her head back. The Avatar’s lips moved near her neck and her other hand came up to cup her breasts, moving from one to the other in a squeezing, pinching dance that kept Asami flustered.

“So this is how it has to be to get the blood royal wet, huh?” Her tone was harsh, but the way her tongue flickered of her Asami’s pulse was gentle…until she scraped it with her teeth. “You don’t want me soft with you. You want me to just take what’s _mine_.”

 _No_ , part of her whispered, aching in her chest. _No, I liked it when you were soft with me too, but this is safer for you, safer for us both_. But she made no verbal response, and Korra didn’t seem to appreciate that. She shoved Asami forward, and her face met the bed before she could put her hands up to stop herself. She tried to scramble up on her elbows, but a firm hand on her back held her down, made her compliant, while Korra’s other hand pushed her thighs open. She closed her eyes then, her limbs loosening as she mentally prepared for the cock to brutally push inside of her, taking her in one swift thrust.

But the force she was waiting for never came. Instead, Korra’s fingers were questing around her thighs, teasingly playing with the needy little trails of her wetness, gathering it up. The Avatar slid around her entrance, the lightness of her fingertips a torturous agony as they slipped dangerously close to her clit and then circled back again, never quite brushing where she needed it most. She felt more wetness pulse from inside her with a breathy noise, and Korra groaned in appreciation as further slickness aided in her fingers’ teasing glide.

“Korra,” she panted into the bed, mouth only half open. “ _Please_ , please touch me-“

But the hand left her pussy to deliver a stinging slap on her upraised bottom, making her cry out into the sheets, hands twining at the fabric. “That’s _Avatar_ Korra to you, omega slut. You don’t get any privileges here, you haughty little princess.”

Asami blazed with inner fury. She raised her head before she could stop herself, and words snarled from her mouth, unbidden. “Haughty? You’re the one with a harem of omegas, demanding to be addressed by your proper title.” Her eyes flared back at Korra’s dark, angry blue seas, daring her to challenge. “Arrogant, selfish alpha.” She mocked.

She expected another slap, perhaps to her face, and readied herself for it, taking in a breath, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Korra only revealed a low, merciless smirk, and her fingertip dipped inside of Asami’s needy, grasping walls, plying just far enough inside to bump into the swelling ridge against the front. “I can be selfish,” the alpha admitted, almost casually as her finger curled inside. “Or I can be very generous…if you’re good.”

The implication was clear. Firing back would only get her ignored, but behaving well would earn her the pleasure they both so deeply craved. Her throat caught against another hitched breath as Korra explored further, adding a second finger, and her body pulsed wonderfully around the stretch, unused to anything other than her own, significantly-more slender fingers; that was all that had been inside of her for a few months at least, after Mako. She immediately wondered how Korra’s cock would feel, pushing inside, and the thought of the size of it was enough to make her shudder against the alpha, whether from fear or excitement, she could not say.

Korra sucked in a breath as well and for a moment they both seemed to be savoring Asami’s grasping around her fingers. “ _Spirits_ , you’re tight.” She gasped out, finally, and gently pushed forward again, starting a slow thrust inside. “So tight.” Korra said again, and leaned forward to inhale against her neck, allowing her to sink even deeper, as far as her fingers could go.

Asami let out a low moan, pushing her ass back against Korra’s building thrusts and clenching the bedspread in her desperate hands. The unfurling inside of her felt so treacherously good, but she wanted more, wanted Korra’s cock, sweet with the burning stretch, the fullness after months of feeling empty. She didn’t know how Korra could be making her feel this abandon without her heat, but she didn’t care. All she could think about was lifting her hips to be filled deeper, stretched more. Korra obliged, but with her fingers; curling down into the swelling spot inside of her, pressing against it to make Asami jerk forward and gush more around her.

Korra’s fingers pumped in and out, and their glide was rough, inexpert, but so rewarding that the omega beneath her couldn’t help the soft whimpers that were rolling out of her lips. She let out even more when there was an unsteady swipe of a thumb against the swollen bud of her clit, standing from its hood in a needy plea for attention, and her hips bucked back against Korra, slamming into her wrist. Asami was aware of the sight she must be; hair tumbled over her face, arms stretched above her head to cling to the edge of the bedspread, and ass lifted submissively for the Avatar’s searing gaze. She couldn’t force herself to care, couldn’t find the cold resolve she’d been born to carry, the proper demeanor of a Sato heiress. Instead she was keening, whimpering like a true omega, and only the force of the thrusts inside her prevented her from begging for more. Korra released the punishing weight of her palm on the small of Asami’s back, and suddenly, the fingers of her other hand were snaking into the fray, rubbing insistently against Asami’s clit.

The extra pressure was too much, too perfect, even in its lack of tenderness, and she began building inside, her stomach tightening as her back arched and her legs quivered on either side of Korra’s working wrists. Fingers rolled the bud of her clit back and forth, never letting the sensation ease, and she felt her eyes roll up into her head at the overwhelming pleasure. Little, panting gasps began to tug out from her body involuntarily, and she increased the rhythm of her hips back up against Korra’s body, begging for more without actually speaking the words out loud. The climax was rushing up upon her, seeking her full attention and she couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, so she hoped desperately that Korra would read her body’s signals and understand the need there.

But that wasn’t good enough.

Korra’s fingers disappeared from inside her and she almost screamed at the loss. “ _No_! Don’t stop! What are you-“ Her head jerked up and was just as quickly shoved back down, as another vicious slap caught against her bare, damp thigh, right against the crease of her sex. The tips of Korra’s fingers just barely stung against her pouting inner lips, threatening so much worse if they made a fuller contact, and her mouth opened in shock even as her body betrayed her with a further rush of glistening fluids.

“Beg me.” Came the harsh, panting voice behind her. A hand stroked and cupped her throbbing, pulsing pussy but didn’t relieve her suffering, didn’t touch her clit or go back inside. “Beg me to come, like the slut you are.”

 _No, no, no_. Her mind rebelled, but her body’s demands were too high to ignore. A screaming, roiling mess of an omega whined within her that she was so close, so damn close… Her head fell back onto the bed and she succumbed; lifting her ass again in a submissive gesture. “Please,” she croaked, and swallowed to soothe her ragged airways. “ _Please_ , let me come.”

There was no verbal response for a few moments, and it seemed Korra was occupied behind her, and then a growling voice intoned. “If you’re going to come…hff…it’ll be with my cock inside you.”

  
Blessed relief as well as fearful anticipation came in the form of Korra’s broad, heavy cock, nudging at her entrance, coating the head with her slickness. She sucked in a breath as it caught at the tip; no matter how aroused she was, Korra was still big, bigger than anything she’d ever taken before, and the pain as the head began to sink in was a burning, bittersweet sting. The angle didn’t help, either, and it felt for an anxious moment as if her muscles wouldn’t yield, as if she would split in two, but then her body finally accepted the stretch. She cried out in pleasurable agony as the widest part of the blunt head sank inside and was welcomed by her gripping, pulsing inner walls.

Korra groaned behind her, and she felt a flash of pride that the alpha was just as affected by entering her as she was in being entered. “ _Fuck_ ….” She growled, and the noise sent a shiver through Asami’s body, helping to open her for the next few inches as Korra’s hips rolled forward. “Good girl, take it.”

She yelped, self-control forgotten as the fullness inside of her pushed steadily forward, forcing her delicate muscles to part for the thickness of it. Her head lifted off the bed on a low moan as Korra’s hands gripped her waist, pulling her back onto the cock, not letting the pliant omega escape the force of her fucking. “Just like that,” she hissed between her teeth into Asami’s hair. “Take it all.”

And then the Avatar began to thrust in earnest, fucking her into the bed, pounding her limp, unresisting form into the mattress as Asami spread her legs ever wider, arching her back to let it sink deeper. The omega was lost, drowning in the wet slapping noises issuing from their joined bodies and the feel of Korra’s hips jarring into her ass. Her pussy was pummeled, battered endlessly by the violent pace, but she loved it, love the feeling of the stretch and the scrape of the head against that spot inside of her every time the Avatar pulled back for another deep thrust. She was aware, as if from very far away, that she was howling into the bed, almost sobbing as the brutal hips behind hers tore the name from her throat, over and over again. “Korra,” she screamed, again and again. “Please, yes…. _fuck me, Korra_!”

Her body jolted forward in shock and delighted surprise as a hand left her waist to furiously circle her clit, sending the pleasure into gasping, dizzying spirals. Once again her climax rushed up on her, this time stronger than before, and she was helpless to resist it as Korra’s speedy fingers worked in time with the pumping of her cock. She fell over the edge, thrashing wildly and screaming like the north wind, inner walls clenching desperately around the alpha’s cock.

She didn’t have time to savor her release, however, as Korra fucked her right through it, with no consideration for her overstimulated body. It prolonged and extended her orgasm to almost painful heights, making desperate pleas drop from her lips, though whether to stop or to keep going, she wasn’t sure. Just when she almost couldn’t take anymore, Korra’s hips picked up a selfish, savage rut, and her flesh once again swelled in anticipation, as the prospect of her alpha’s come filling her took on a more imminent meaning.

“Oh yes,” she moaned incoherently, deliriously lost in the idea of being bred by this strong, confident alpha who had her pinned. All ideas of suppressants and risk and what her father would do had gone completely out the window as her body longed for Korra’s come, for the hot splash inside of her greedy, grasping walls to overwhelm her senses. She felt sure she could come again, despite the exhaustive thoroughness of her last climax, if Korra emptied into her. Even though she wasn’t in heat, and knew that Korra couldn’t produce one without it, the idea of a knot stretching her, keeping the come inside to breed her properly…that was what she truly wanted. There was a logical unheeded part of her brain that was trying to remind her she wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ go into heat and could _definitely not_ be bred, but her lusty omega self wasn’t listing, was only focused on taking as much of Korra’s cock and come inside of her now as she could get.

But the hot spurts she was waiting for, internally begging for, never came. Instead Korra withdrew, pulling herself from Asami’s tight wetness with a grunt. Asami gasped in shock and discomfort, but she didn’t have time to process because she was being flipped around, the weight of her body nothing to the Avatar’s strength. “Get up,” Korra rasped, hand pumping on her length, which was shining with their combined wetness. “Open your mouth.”

She didn’t want to. There was a part of her that wanted to grab Korra’s cock and force her back inside, to sink down on it and ride the Avatar until she knew who was really in charge here…but the call and the dominance of Korra’s scent was all around her, tugging at her, forcing her to submit. Without questioning it, she obeyed, getting on her hands and knees in front of the Avatar’s thick cock and opening her mouth wide.

Korra wasted no time. She grabbed Asami’s hair in one hand, and guided her cock into her red wet lips with the other, grunting with approval at the obedience of her omega. Asami let her mouth split open around the wide head, and her tongue flickered out to collect the salty come at the tip, swallowing it greedily. The featherlight touch was all the alpha needed, and Korra’s beautiful head threw back in a howl as jets of come spurted from her cock into the back of Asami’s throat.

Asami wrapped her hands around Korra’s base, milking the rest out without being told as the Avatar slumped above her, groaning as she released a flood. Asami swallowed quickly to try to contain as much as she could, but a trickle leaked out from her lips to spill down her chin. She kept up the tender swipes of her tongue for as long as Korra allowed, until the alpha jerked and withdrew, painting her with one last lazy pump across her chest.

For a long moment, alpha and omega regarded each other. Asami, panting with come streaking her chest and her face, hair messy and unbound, body reddened and marked from Korra’s rough attentions, and the Avatar, looking down at the omega with her eyes unreadable, stroking her softening cock. There was a split instant in which the alpha looked desperately, painfully guilty, and sorry beyond measure as she took in Asami’s tear-stained face, but then it was gone, covered by a mask of impassivity.

“Good.” Korra said, calmly, and slid off the bed to recover her robe, slipping it back on. “Go, get yourself cleaned up and come back here again tomorrow night.” She turned, and without a second glance at the messy bed and omega behind her, opened the door to the bathroom, shutting it behind her.

Asami watched her go, limbs shaking, body still aching with the feverish stretch, and she found fresh tears welling in her eyes. She shook them away, savagely, and gathered herself, wiping her face vindictively on Korra’s bedspread before she slipped her panties and nightgown back on. _Spirits_ , she thought, as she choked back a sob fleeing to her room, _how am I supposed to keep this up for three months?_

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami continue their ‘arrangement’, but Korra has suspicions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just FYI, there’s some rough sex in the first bit here, including some size/pain kink and choking. I mean, I know what I’m down for but you may want to skip ahead if it’s not your thing. Fluff is coming soon!

“Shit, oh _shit_ , Korra!”

The alpha paused mid-thrust, glorying in making Asami swear like that. She hauled the hips in her grasp higher, until the omega’s body was practically in an ‘A’ shape on the bed, and focused on flicking her fingers over that swelling, receptive nubbin while her cock slammed into the front wall of Asami’s delectable little pussy. It was the third night now of visits to her bed, and Korra always felt hedonistic, a sybarite in a pleasure dome while she fucked Asami. The cascading falls of tumbled black hair, the sweet sheen of sweat on her pale shoulders as she shivered, her glossy pink sex, pouting and open and split perfectly around her cock like a wet peach…Everything was blissfully tight around her, wrapped in silk that pulsed with a fluttering heartbeat, and she could thrust fast or slow as she wanted, knowing that in the end, her release was all that mattered.

 _But you want her to come, too._ Her brain kept insisting, quietly but firmly. _You love making her feel good._

She growled, pumping her hips to elicit a squeal from the captive omega beneath her, and shook the thought away, deciding to be as lewd as possible. She wrapped one hand around Asami’s slender throat, flexing her fingers. Asami let out a soft gasp and her body rippled around Korra’s straining length, demonstrating her approval at the same time as her tensed back indicated her anxiety.

“ _Fuck_ …you’re so small, almost like you’ve never had a real alpha in you.” Korra hissed obscenely through her teeth as she ignored the treacherous voices inside her head, focusing on the tight, velvety channel she was currently plundering and the delicious pleasure stroking her cock. She leaned forward, punctuating her thrusts with gripping flexes of her fingers against Asami’s throat. The Avatar grunted as Asami’s needy little cunt pulsed around her thickness, almost abrading her shaft with the fist-like grip.

“Does it hurt when I fuck you?” She purred cruelly. It came easier to her when she couldn’t see the omega’s green eyes, so she always took her this way, from behind. Underneath the question, however, was a very real concern, and one that Korra was gritting her teeth to ignore. It did seem like Asami enjoyed everything she was doing to her, but that didn’t mean anything. What she was doing was brutal, and she knew it, but at the same time she _wanted_ not to care. Wanted to be the type of alpha she’d always despised, just so she could walk away from their coupling with her heart intact. It was a duplicitous and foolish game, but she couldn’t help but play on. “Does it stretch you open?”

Asami wiggled under her thrusts and moaned incoherently, but she wanted an answer to her double-edged query so her hand came down with a ringing smack against the omega’s pale thigh, leaving an instant red mark. Asami jerked up and gasped the words out: “ _Yes_ , yes, it hurts, but I like it… _ahh_ please, _Korra don’t stop_!”

The Avatar had no intention of stopping. She shuddered, relishing simultaneously in the feel of Asami’s clenching walls right along with the shameful admission. She loved using such harsh language on her, and how it affected the other girl, who usually appeared as cold and unmoving as a marble statue. Now that same untouchable artwork was a panting, whimpering mess below her, letting herself be spoken to this way, begging to be stretched by the alpha above her like any other omega. That abandon pleased her. She would take everything she wanted from Asami, and leave her with nothing but her emptiness, leave her broken and ruined-

 _I feel so safe with you_.

The whispered words needled maddeningly into her mind, and she almost brought a hand up to wave the intrusive memory away. Instead, she shook her head like a bull-bear, dizzying herself as she tried desperately to clear the image of Asami’s soft face looking up at her from the carriage ride, eyes half-lidded and full of quiet longing….

A sharp yelp from the gorgeous reality moving below her brought her back, and she realized belatedly that her thrusts had turned chaotic and her gripping hand on Asami’s neck had tightened while she fought the sweet words away. Asami was keening, rubbing her clit frantically against her manacled hands (Korra had found it easier to chain her up and put her in degrading positions in order to get hard from the sheer sight of her body- if she looked too long at Asami unbound and open, she was lost in her pleading green eyes) and the breathless pants indicated that she was close to coming.

Korra grit her teeth as the pulsing, rippling waves gripped her cock, almost pulling the come from the straining tip, were it not for the iron of her resolve. Asami’s orgasms always felt so good, so painfully good around her that it was practically impossible to resist coming right along with her, but Korra only flexed her fingers bruisingly on Asami’s swan-like neck and jerked her hips in short thrusts to ride out the pleasure. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she slid out, leaving the omega whimpering in disappointment, and milked her release onto the upturned surface of her pale ass, groaning as she pumped her fist along her spurting cock.

She knew her seed was better served inside, of course. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

It would solve so many problems, on so many fronts, the war being the obvious concern, but there were others…The blood royal’s visits to her bed the last few nights had finally quelled most of the rumors about her supposed impotence, but now the happy gossip flew thick and fast about the impending impregnation, as it was assumed to be close at hand. A mating was heartily welcomed; no one wanted war, and the blood royal’s fertility was a celebrated topic, so it would only be a matter of time before they would be expected to have marks on each other’s necks. She’d even heard a few White Lotus guards casually discussing potential sizes of first litters, and it only turned her heart in constricting circles.

The idea of having pups with Asami…it had once given her a thrill, and deep down, it still did, but overlaid with that was the consistent fear that Mako was right, that Asami was an Equalist working with her father, and, contract or no, would one day betray her to Amon. She couldn’t have pups with a woman like that. She couldn’t claim a woman like that, no matter how much her alpha howled to lurch forward and bite down on that smooth, teasingly sweet-smelling neck during these rough sessions. Using Asami for her incredible body was the easier option. For both of them. When the three months were up and the clause kicked in, Asami could go back to her Equalist alpha, whom she presumably loved (and didn’t the thought of _that_ make her stomach kick angrily, like a hog-mule) and Korra could….she didn’t know yet, but it would be better than this.

 _I feel so safe with you_ … The voice echoed again, and it made her grit her teeth in fury against the treacherous memory. Shut up, she told herself, just shut up.

“Korra.” The rasp of the omega’s voice broke her of her discordant thoughts. She was still manacled to the bed, and since Korra hadn’t mastered metalbending yet, she had to fumble to unlock the cuffs manually, stretching over the omega and trying to avoid looking at her flushed, makeup-smeared face or the come streaking her ass in pearly ribbons.

“There.” She tried to keep emotion out of her voice at all times when addressing Asami, as it was too difficult to avoid her anger or her confusion. “You can go now.” She slid off the bed, heading for the shower to go clean up.

“Korra, _wait_.” Asami’s call stopped her dead in her tracks; usually by now the other girl was swiftly gathering her clothes. Instead, she was clutching the sheets to her lovely, radiant nakedness, and not moving from the bed. She sat in the center of it as regally as a queen, despite being so recently used like a slave, and the sight almost took the Avatar’s breath away. _That’s unfair_ , she decided, hands unintentionally clenching at her sides. _She shouldn’t still look like a princess to me._

“I need to go into the city,” Asami explained, and her chin gave a determined little lift. “I have some things remaining at my home that I’ve decided to bring here, since this is to be my life now.”

The implication hung between them in the air. Asami was planning on staying, perhaps beyond the three months. It shouldn’t have lifted Korra’s heart, but it did. She fiercely smothered the impulse to smile, and instead cocked her head carelessly to one side. “And? I don’t see how that’s my problem. Take the ferry.” She made a dismissive gesture, trying to sweep away her thoughts with the same motion.

Asami sighed. “The White Lotus guard doesn’t let me off the island without your permission.” The omega reminded her, patiently.

“Oh. Right.” She blushed, hating herself for the involuntary action as she realized that Asami was right. Days earlier, when their nightly trysts began, she’d gone to the guards and demanded that Asami be kept under closer watch, to ensure she wasn’t slipping off to meet anyone, but also to enforce her visible dominance, to make Asami feel that Korra didn’t trust her. She wouldn’t be lying if she said it was motivated mostly by vengeful vindication, as well as by a desire for control over a situation that so often spiraled beyond it. “I’ll…I’ll talk to them.”

“Thank you.” Asami’s face brightened, and in that moment she was more beautiful than ever. Korra ached with a burning need to step to the bed and kiss her, gently and softly, but as inviting as the thought was, she buried it.

Awkward silence followed, during which Korra was acutely aware that this was the longest conversation she’d had with the blood royal since starting their little ‘arrangement’. Part of her wanted to ask questions like _are you okay, did I hurt you, are you trying to betray me to your father_ …but another, larger part just wanted to keep everything uncomfortable buried for as long as she could. Three months, if possible. She didn’t care if that meant a war, because a war seemed deeply preferable than talking to Asami about her feelings and leaving herself laid bare for rejection like she already had. She cleared her throat. “Well, then…”

But she didn’t know what else to say. In the end she just turned and stalked impotently back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and stepping hastily into the shower as she yanked the hot water on. Cursing herself for her obvious discomfiture, she decided while lathering that she needed to reassert her control, and remind Asami that this particular favor was being graciously bestowed, rather than simply granted as a matter of course.

That was why, the next morning when Asami prepared to leave on the docks with a few White Lotus guards, Korra met her there, bearing a small box. The omega turned, a surprised smile playing on her lips as Korra strode to greet her. They rarely saw one another in daylight hours, and Korra felt a deep pang at the sight of her; Asami was always so lovely, even clothed, that it only reminded her of her misery. Squaring her shoulders, she beckoned the girl closer and opened the box, lifting the object out.

Asami’s face fell instantly when she realized what it was. The collar was made of silver, a thin, delicate band that was nevertheless strong as iron. The ornate clasps at the front bore the symbols of the White Lotus and the Water Tribe, signifying that its bearer belonged to the Avatar. Korra allowed a cruel smirk to crawl viciously onto her face as she surveyed Asami’s dismayed reaction. _Let’s see how regal you look with an alpha’s collar on your neck, Princess_ , she thought, and tried to ignore the arousal that the idea brought out in her swelling nether regions.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d let you go into the city without a mark of ownership?” She asked, faux-sugary. “Your father tasked me with protecting you, after all. Since we’re not yet mated, this collar shows you belong to me.” She couldn’t help a grin of imperious smugness as she clicked the silver band in place around Asami’s neck, holding her hair out of the way with one hand.

The blood royal’s eyes blazed into hers, sparkling sharp as a jade dagger. “Of course, Avatar.” Asami responded through clenched teeth. “Thank you for thinking of my safety. There are so _many_ alphas in the city…” She simpered, letting her remark trail off to indicate exactly what she meant.

Korra’s arrogance and anger flared as one. _You little bitch, I’ll just bet you’re meeting your Equalist lover. We’ll see soon enough_. She smiled grimly as she remembered Mako in the city, waiting for her signal to tail Asami from the moment she stepped off the ferry. They’d agreed he was to avoid being seen at all costs, so she hoped he could restrain himself if he saw his former lover rutting with Amon’s Lieutenant in a Satomobile or an alleyway. She knew she certainly wouldn’t be able to.

“Well, there’s only one alpha _here_.” She purred, and swept Asami into her arms, aware of the guards watching, and probably some acolytes up on the hill. She wanted to give them a show, and if Asami was meeting her secret lover, well, she’d have to do it covered in another alpha’s scent. The thought gave her a victorious thrill as she crushed her lips to Asami’s sweet mouth, half-open in surprise. The omega gave a squeak that was hardly ladylike but then softened to her touch, kissing back hungrily as the passion deepened and their bodies clung to each other as if two leaves in a whirlwind.

Too late, Korra realized the reason she’d avoided doing this in bed was to dance around the emotions that came with it: kissing Asami was a tidal wave, a typhoon of lust and what felt like love, battling with confusion and mistrust. She wrenched her mouth away, gasping, and was gratified to see that, at least, Asami was suffering the same effects, staring at her wide-eyed as she breathed heavily, hands on the Avatar’s broad shoulders. The blood royal scent was all around them, crushed orange blossom and cinnamon bonfire, and it was steeping into her pores as if she was bathing in it. Her intent had been to cover Asami in her alpha musk as a final act of possessive dominance, but instead she was the one being beaten into submission by the heady waves of Asami’s addictive, tantalizing scent.

She almost pushed Asami away, stumbling on her feet, and only managed to save herself by virtue of a nearby railing. “Okay, have a good trip.” She stuttered, all-too-aware that Asami was looking at her like she was some kind of maniac, which, of course she was; putting a collar around the omega’s neck one minute and losing herself in a kiss the next…what was she _even doing_? It was clear she didn’t know. Without a backward glance, she hurried up the docks back to the island; in her lustful haze, she’d almost forgotten to give Mako the signal.

Several hours passed while Korra paced by the radio transmitter in the tower, awaiting Mako’s report. She watched as the ferry chugged back into the docks below, and a tiny form in red and black stepped off, directing the guards to unload what appeared to be a mountain of luggage. Just as she was beginning to despair that Mako hadn’t found her at all, the radio crackled to life.

“Korra? You there?”

“Mako!” She grabbed the speaker, excitedly. “Did you follow her?”

“Oh yeah.” She heard his smug chuckle through the static. “Although, I have to say, if I didn’t know she couldn’t possibly have seen me, I’d swear she knew I was there. A couple times it seemed like she almost stopped to let me catch up.”

 _She probably did,_ Korra thought, and her eyes rolled involuntarily _, because you were probably glowering at her the entire time and she saw you right away. I would’ve been better off sending Pabu. At least he’d be more subtle_. “Well? What did she do?”

“Well, she went to the Sato mansion and got about a truckload of stuff. Servants put it all in bags and-“

“Yeah, Mako, I know.” She interrupted, testily. “I can see that part for myself. What happened at the mansion?”

“Her dad didn’t like the look of the collar, that’s for sure.” Mako’s voice stiffened, even over the line. “And neither did I…that’s crazy alpha stuff, Korra, it’s not like you. I thought you said you weren’t going to do that with any of the marriage prospects, no matter the tradition.”

 _Well, that was before I decided to humiliate my unwilling bedslave in front of an audience and quite-probably piss her Equalist father off in the process_. Korra cringed, but didn’t answer his worried tone. He continued, anyway.

“They went into an office without a window, so I couldn’t eavesdrop, but when she came out, she didn’t look happy, and neither did he. He slapped her, Korra; I could see the imprint on her face.”

 _Oh Spirits_. Guilt tore her insides apart and she clutched at the receiver, unable to speak. She’d sent Asami off with a provocation around her neck, a challenge to Hiroshi’s familial dominance over his daughter, and she shouldn’t have been so torn at the fact that he’d he reacted. She’d _wanted_ him to be upset, to know his daughter was rutting with the Avatar, but in doing so, she’d left Asami in the direct path of her father’s blame. _Wasn’t that the point?_ It didn’t feel good.

“That wasn’t all, though. The Lieutenant was there, but Asami didn’t seem happy to see him either. She looked... _afraid_ of him, actually, and when her father left, things got worse.”

Korra almost dropped the receiver. “Worse how?” She asked hoarsely. _Please_ , she thought desperately before she could chide herself, _please don’t be in love with him_. But Mako’s next sentence quickly disavowed her of that notion and introduced new guilt. 

“He pushed her up against the wall by her neck, and threatened to rip the collar off of her and do….other things. I guess she smelled like you. I didn’t hear what she said back, but she kicked him and he let her go. Then he said he’d take her by force if he had to, and she told him he’d die before he ever got that far. That’s…that’s as much as I heard, but Korra…. I don’t think she actually likes that guy. I think that’s another plan of Hiroshi’s, but I can’t be sure.” His voice sounded hesitant, but even with the doubt, Korra knew he wouldn’t be telling her at all if it wasn’t the honest truth.

Another gut punch, this time from the horrid realization that she’d been so rough with Asami, thinking that her Equalist lover was probably twice as bad, and this whole time there was no Equalist lover. Just Asami…taking whatever Korra wanted her to take. _Oh no,_ she thought, agonizing _, that’s three times I’ve caused an omega pain today. Once with embarrassment, once with her father’s slap, and then once when the Lieutenant caught wind of me all over her. Some alpha Avatar I am._

She was interrupted from her anguished musings on the nature of the responsibilities Tenzin was always harping on about. Mako was saying something else. “Sorry,” she coughed. “What was that?”

“I said, when she went into her bedroom, she came out with something. Looked like a small vial. She tucked it into her outfit. Do you know what that could be? Poison, I thought, but…”

Korra swore. All of her sympathy went out the window in a raging instant. Mako may have a limited knowledge of omega physiology, but she didn’t. That vial was a suppressant, or she was a platypus-bear. She clattered the receiver down, yelling a ‘Okay _thanks_ Mako, bye’ at it as she sprinted from the room. If Asami had brought a suppressant with her, she had to take it soon, and Korra needed to catch her in the act before the evidence disappeared.

Korra fairly flew down the tower, looking for Asami. The bags were long since unloaded into the omega’s room, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the steam baths, or in the meditation garden, either, but as Korra rounded on the turtleduck pools, she caught sight of Asami and Opal dipping their feet in the shallow end, giggling as their heads bent together like willow trees. Asami was holding something in her fist, indicating it to Opal, who was exclaiming with delight, and the older omega put a long finger over her lips, shushing her, before the two of them leaned over the vial. Korra moved determinedly closer, sneaking through the shrubbery, hoping not to be noticed in time to catch Asami before she could take it or give it to Opal.

But as she drew closer, a new, pleasant scent entered her nostrils and she just barely caught the end of Opal’s words as the Avatar ducked behind a nearby trellis.

“…from the Fire Nation, really, Asami?” The airbender was saying, as she examined the bottle, tilting it this way and that to catch the light in the amber liquid.

“Yes, and it smells amazing, too. Here, let me show you.”

At first, Korra was hopelessly confused as Asami undid the stopper and splashed a tiny bit of the ‘suppressant’ onto her wrist, holding it up for Opal to sniff. But when the airbender made a soft trill of appreciation, and rubbed her wrist against Asami’s to share the scent, she caught on, and her shoulders slumped, thankful no one had witnessed her mad dash. The vial, of course, was perfume, and Korra felt like a total idiot. _Thanks Mako_ , she seethed. _Poison, my ass_.

Opal now rubbed her wrist across her neck, spreading it. “It’s lovely,” she commented. “And this keeps alphas away when you’re in the city?”

Asami nodded demurely. “Somewhat, but being a blood royal means no perfume will ever be enough. It should be plenty for you, though. You’ve got a subtle scent, anyway.”

Opal rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I hear it enough from my mom all the time, telling me it’s good that I don’t broadcast. Frankly, I wish my scent was a little more like yours.” She prodded the other omega playfully with an elbow to her ribs.

The blood royal blushed, and turned her face away. Korra could see her lips twist; it was a pretty grimace, but a grimace all the same. “No, you don’t, Opal. Trust me.”

Korra’s heart ached in a sudden swell, and with no one watching her, she couldn’t quite stop it. Opal seemed to feel the same way towards the taller omega, though, and her hand reached out to clasp the slender pale fingers. “Oh Asami, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean- I know it must be hard. Liking Korra, the way you do, and then she just treats you like a blood royal.”

Asami’s blush deepened at the same time as Korra gaped and flushed red herself. ‘ _Liking Korra the way you do’_ was still playing in her ears as Asami responded. “Is it really that obvious?”

Opal laughed. “From the way you two were squaring off, I could tell you care about her. Does she know you feel that way?”

Asami’s responding laugh was dark, bitter. “Oh no, she can’t ever know. She hates me enough as it is.”

The Avatar trembled beside the trellis, almost causing the ground to shake before she caught herself. She shouldn’t be listening to this, she knew, this was deeply private, but it was scarring her to the core to hear it. She was flayed bare, listening with an awful feeling as Opal scoffed.

“Hates you? You’re in her bed every night, and the noises are loud enough to wake the entire island.” The airbender feigned a convincing moan, one that was suspiciously accurate to Asami’s. “‘ _Oh Korra, oh Korra, yes_ -‘“

“Oh Korra, what?” Ikki piped up as she swooped in on an air ball, followed by Jinora and Meelo. “Are you guys praying to Korra? That’s kinda weird. Are we supposed to do that? Is praying a thing we do-“

“We’re not praying to Korra.” Opal snapped, and rolled her eyes playfully. She turned to Asami. “Asami, meet Ikki, Jinora, and the cutie back there is Meelo. These are Tenzin’s kids, and sometimes they show me airbending moves when they’re not _being annoying_.” The dark-haired omega waved hello shyly as the airbender kids crowded around.

“Hi beautiful lady!” Meelo crowed, gazing adoringly up at Asami with his finger partway in his nose. Jinora removed it gently, telling him ‘Meelo, don’t stare’.

“Is this the prissy, elegant, rich omega that Korra was telling us about?” Ikki demanded, crawling into Asami’s lap to begin braiding the bemused omega’s hair. “She doesn’t seem prissy.”

“N-no, I hope not.” Asami smiled down into Ikki’s bright eyes, helping guide her fingers through the glossiness of her thick black hair. Korra’s heart gave an awful thump. _Stop that,_ she tried to tell it, but instead it rattled in the cage of her ribs like an unruly sparrowkeet.

“Yeah! And Dad said she was a blood-something, too.” Meelo commented, joining Ikki on Asami’s knee as Jinora fervently tried to tug him away. “Are you injured, pretty lady?” He began to lift Asami’s sleeves, looking for a wound, as she stifled a laugh into her hand.

“Oookay kids,” Opal interjected, but Korra had also had enough. She stepped away from the trellis and strode into view, adapting her expression into a smile for the airbender kids.

“Are you guys harassing our guest?” She teased, blowing a blast of air at Meelo, who tumbled over backwards. Jinora merely rolled her eyes, but Ikki leapt from Asami’s lap, chanting ‘Korra! Korra!’ As the Avatar approached. Opal’s eyes glittered in a friendly way; she knew the airbender wouldn’t hold a grudge long, but Asami looked up at her and for a moment her green eyes were pained, and that was too much. Korra looked away, and when she returned her gaze, the emerald walls were back.

“Did you have a good time in the city?” She asked, quietly. Asami’s eyes widened briefly in surprise at the gentle tone, but she opened her mouth to respond, and-

“Asami, did you know Korra liked Mako?” Ikki piped up, and Korra’s world exploded into several varieties of murderous desire. _Tenzin wouldn’t notice if he had one less kid_ , she reasoned in a red haze, glaring daggers at the middle airbender child, who darted around the group, blithely unaware.

“No-o, I was not aware of that.” Asami seemed to be choking back a laugh, but Opal was showing far less restraint, guffawing openly with her head back.

Ikki nodded fervently, warming to her story. “She did, she had a _huuuge_ crush on him, only they didn’t work out and I think they’re just friends now and since she spends a lot of time with you I _bet_ she has a crush on y-“

But Korra stomped and shot the little nuisance into the air with a spire of rock before she could unload her loose cannon of a run-on sentence. “Jinora, Meelo, run along now.” She growled, through clenched teeth, and the two remaining airbenders fled in giggling hysterics at her outburst, chasing after the indignant form of their sister, dusting herself off about fifty feet away.

Asami was watching everything with an arched brow while Korra huffed in embarrassment, ruffling her hair to give her hands something to do. Opal looked back and forth between their faces like a fan at a probending match, until Korra caught her eye meaningfully and she excused herself. “I’ll just…ah…leave you two alone, then.” She winked one last time at Asami before departing.

Asami sighed and straightened when they were alone, looking at Korra with dark eyes. “I suppose you’ll want me in your room now.” She offered, and lifted her feet out of the water to stand.

“No, Asami, I-“ She gulped, aware this was the first time she’d said the omega’s name since they’d begun the ‘arrangement.’ She forced herself to continue. “I was thinking next time you go into the city, maybe I could come along.” _Oh Spirits this is painful_. She swallowed, again, and pushed the words out in a stutter. “As a…uhm…as a date.”

The blood royal was clearly taken aback. “A date.” She repeated, slowly.

“And you don’t have to come to my room tonight, either.” Korra blurted out quickly. She looked into Asami’s eyes, and just as she always knew she would, she felt the swell of her longing, filling every piece of her and making her say what she normally wouldn’t. _Fuck, that was dumb,_ she thought desperately, trying to uproot herself to flee, but Asami’s eyes held her locked in place.

“I don’t?” The question was soft, but it nearly broke Korra in half with guilt. She closed her eyes against the feeling, and nearly jumped when she felt Asami’s hand curl around hers, tensed at her side.

She opened her eyes and was lost again in a forest of sea-green. _Spirits_ , how she was beginning to love Asami’s eyes.

“What if I want to?” The omega asked, her pupils dark and full of seductive promise and Korra’s heart dropped through her stomach. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami’s conflicting feelings come to several resolutions at once, including one important misstep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Whoaaaa this little smutty adventure has turned into 10k hits and rising! I’m beyond flattered, and I thank you all for your kind comments. I’ll get around to responding tomorrow, but I figured an update would be much more preferred tonight. ;)
> 
> And sorry for the delay! Long weekend of lesbian stuff. You know how it goes~

Korra’s breath was hot against her ear. They had made it as far as the stairwell, with Asami pressing every inch of her longer frame up against the flustered Avatar as often as she could get, before ardor overtook them. Asami was thrilled; she didn’t know what had come over Korra ( _you will, later_ , her lascivious mind suggested) but her sudden affection was wholeheartedly welcomed, especially after the awfulness of her trip back home.

She knew Mako had been tailing her; he’d been frankly obvious from the start, and she’d allowed the suspicious firebender to slip after her only because she knew he would never be able to fully sneak into the mansion, and would be forced to wait outside, and she was, of course, right. Part of her still wanted to keep him safe, and if he overheard anything, all of their lives would’ve been in danger. However, she wondered if perhaps Mako had conveyed any information to Korra about the state of relations between her and her father, which were, currently, not good. Maybe that was the reason for her change of heart, but she was rapidly deciding not to consider anything too deeply aside from the rising desire and hazy pulse in her limbs.

She didn’t want to think about her father’s fury when he saw the collar, nor his threats, and she certainly didn’t want to think about the Lieutenant. Thinking about why Korra had gone from snapping a provocation around her neck this morning to almost flatteringly-shy in front of her this afternoon was slightly better, and at least made her wonder at the possibilities, but still, she didn’t want to think about that either. As the Avatar panted beside her neck, pausing to slide her hands over the curves covered by the riding pants and aviator jacket she’d put on this morning, she couldn’t help but feel too caught up in the lust of the moment to consider where this sudden gentleness had emerged from. Korra’s touch was addictive, just as much as when she was being impassively cruel as when she was being exquisitely tender, and that addiction subsumed her, ruled her like a king until she was bent-backed to its every whim.

Even the collar, still on her neck, seemed to be aiding in her desire, as she imagined the darkened look in Korra’s eyes as the metal clasped around her, the way the cold silver felt against her skin and the way it now heated with Korra’s breath as she inhaled open-mouthed beside her pulse, clearly savoring her scent, thick with arousal. _Make me yours_ , she thought in a fleeting, rampant second, as her heart beat wildly in the jagged cage of her ribs. _Make me all yours._

Uh oh. That was dangerous, the kind of thinking usually signaled the precursor to her heat. For a brief, sobering second her eyes flew open as she did a mental calculation. Yes, she was close, close enough that Korra’s breath was making her skin heat like a furnace. Too close to risk it, especially as she hadn’t taken the suppressant yet….

( _Earlier)_

_Hiroshi’s eyes narrowed as soon as his daughter entered his study with him, and he shut the door quickly, hissing at her. “Take that wretched thing off immediately.” He indicated the collar, amber eyes blazing fire._

_Asami had prepared for this in the cab ride over to the mansion, after her initial conflicting feelings at Korra’s selfish action had subsided; she knew she would need a plan for her father’s wrath and one had presented itself to her as she examined the White Lotus guards. An engineer needed to think on her feet, and Asami was nothing but a quick, agile mind constrained by societal implications of her status and sex._

_“I can’t.” She replied smoothly. “It’s the mark of my status with the Avatar, something which protects me while I’m the city, and something you ordered in your little contract, remember?” Her eyes glittered with defiance._

_Hiroshi’s fists clenched and his whole demeanor shifted into alpha aggression, as musk filled the room, blasting her with waves of his intense, overriding authority. Normally this was enough to make her bow her head immediately, but Korra’s scent was still all over her, and, strangely enough, although the purpose behind it was vile, the collar made her feel strong. She fingered it, lightly, watching how his eyes were furiously drawn to it, as she continued. “And speaking of that contract, did you think I wouldn’t notice the clause?”_

_Hiroshi snorted, but his eyes never left the silver band on his daughter’s neck, rage building in the veins of his forehead. “What of it? You know you made a promise-“_

_“No,” she interrupted. “You made a promise. Because you lost all of that money on your silly debts, and when Cabbage Corp swooped in, you were too embattled to strike back. So you must use me, your weak omega daughter, and my womanly wiles, to make sure Amon continues his contracts, remember?” She emphasized choice words, an unpleasant smile on her normally-lovely face._

_“Asami, if you dare to disrespect-“_

_“You disrespect yourself.” Asami told him, folding her arms. Words began spilling out before she could stop herself, but it felt good. She wielded her anger like a lash, striking out at her father._

_“Mother would be ashamed. And she would not allow me to be sold like chattel to Amon’s henchman, nor would she allow the same for the Avatar. You used me to make this contract on both sides, Dad, and it’s occurring to me that I have no incentive to play your pawn, now that I’ve got protection, which again, is thanks to you.” Hiroshi opened his mouth and bared his teeth savagely but she lifted a finger, stopping his fury into frustrated silence. “I won’t be mating with the Lieutenant. No matter what happens with Amon, or Korra. You’ll have to secure contracts the old-fashioned way; with merchandise that isn’t your daughter.”_

_He wanted to hit her. She knew it from every inch of his tense, blocky form, gritting his teeth against a snarl because he knew that he couldn’t act with the violence his temper demanded. The White Lotus would be immediately suspicious if she returned with obvious marks. He could still hurt her, of course, but he couldn’t damage her too badly. It had been earlier that she’d realized, with a surge of confidence, that her father had made an interesting error involving the Avatar this way; if she was harmed, Korra would take the slight against her ‘property’ personally, and it would be a violation of Hiroshi’s own contract. Only, this time, he would be at fault, not the Avatar. He would spoil his own plans. She stood firm against her father, regarding him watchfully as he paced._

_“You will obey.” He choked out at last, eyes flashing._

_“I will not.” She countered._

_He slapped her, but she was expecting the blow, and hardly flinched. Her cheek stung, and her ears were ringing, but she leveled her gaze on him and was gratified to see him drop his angry glare. “Hit me all you like,” she explained, “but I’m not marrying that psychopath and I’m not carrying just anyone’s pups, either. When this is over, no matter what happens, I’m not going to marry anyone. I’m of legal age and if you try to force me into a match without my consent, I can go above your head to the city council. It just so happens I’m well-placed with a certain airbender.”_

_Hiroshi roared, and she almost quailed, but the collar reminded her to hold strong. “You insolent, disobedient little whore! I’ll see you hog-tied in the Dragon Flats for this!”_

_The image disturbed and terrified her, but her self-protective instincts had flourished with a week away from his oppressive influence and she was able to stand her ground, snarling back. “You do and I’ll live to see you ruined, old man.”_

_This isn’t working, she observed, almost sadly, as her father made an enraged noise, low in his throat. She softened her eyes, trying to convince him around. If he could understand her feelings, perhaps he would see reason. “Dad, I will help you rebuild our company, I swear it, but there has to be another way, a better way. The Lieutenant…he scares me. Don’t you want me to be happy?” She allowed the pleading note to drop into her tone, hoping against hope._

_But Hiroshi wasn’t even listening to her anymore. He was glaring and breathing so heavily that she worried he would incite a heart attack. She knew the only reason she wasn’t being beaten into a screaming, bruised heap right now was because of her threat of the Avatar’s protection, and dully, she realized that he feared the Avatar more than he feared Amon, but her father’s eyes were still glazed with the red madness of challenge, of her defiance to his authority, and she had ceased to exist anymore as his daughter. Finally he spoke, and it was clearly with some effort._

_“Rutting with the Avatar has made you bold, but I promise you, if you do not take the suppressant with you when you go, I will send the entirety of Amon’s forces after you and the bender bitch, contract be damned.”_

_With that, he blew past her in a furious wind of alpha stink. The Lieutenant was waiting in the hallway, as usual. She hated that; hated how Amon’s forces made themselves completely at home in the mansion, but his loathsome dead eyes always stopped her fury cold, with fear twisting her insides. Hiroshi turned to him and indicated Asami with a savage wave of his hand. “See if you can reason with her.”_

_Her father hurried around the corner, likely to vent his rage on an unsuspecting servant, and she was left alone with the Equalist alpha, who was staring at the collar around her neck like it had come alive and was personally insulting him. Before she could blink, he was on her, and had her lifted half against the wall, choking as he grabbed her by the edge of the silver band._

_The Lieutenant rarely spoke, preferring not to mince words, so his grating tenor was a sudden shock to her ears as he spoke, almost conversationally to her. “I ought to rip this off you right now and put you in your place. Her smell is all over you.”_

_His hand was heavy and rough, and it prevented her from drawing enough air to see straight. Bright spots swam before her eyes as she gasped for a breath. Her first kick went wild, striking against his leg, but the second found his midsection by the grace of all the Spirits and he doubled over long enough to release her. She darted around him, but he grabbed her wrist and brought her close again, close enough to smell his unpleasant broadcast of mixed lust and smug assertiveness. “You go on and fight, little princess, I don’t mind. I’m still going to be the one to claim you, no matter how you kick and scream.”_

_The words sent a roil of disgust and revulsion through her body. She’d been able to somewhat tolerate his closeness before, but his true intentions were always clear, and he’d always made her feel unpleasantly watched when he stalked the halls in the little secret passages he used throughout the mansion. The Lieutenant was a ‘traditionalist’, like her father, and believed omegas should obey alphas, at all times. They were meant for bearing heirs, little else, and a blood royal…why that was simply the sweetest prize of all for a traditional alpha. It was just another reason that he and her father got along so well, she reflected, bitterly._

_“You’ll die trying.” She promised, her eyes flashing fire back at him as she wrenched her wrist away. For a moment he only regarded her coldly, as if she was a specimen in a jar, until she jerked from his gaze and managed to make it to her room down the corridor, slamming her back against the door as soon as it closed._

_Inside the relative sanctity of her room, she could see a line of suppressant bottles on her dresser, conspicuously marked. Her father would clearly notice if she didn’t take one. Her hands trembled; she’d been terrified to be near the Lieutenant. Something about him always smelled of barely-contained rage, but his eyes never indicated any emotion at all._

_Swiftly, she crossed to her dresser, shaking her head in waves of her long hair to dispel the lingering anxiety. She had intended to get some omega-specific perfume for Opal, and her fingers closed around the bottle now, slipping it into her jacket pocket. Omega perfume was rather costly, and she doubted the airbender girl had ever experienced the freedom that came from not broadcasting one’s scent; Asami herself had yet to feel anything of the sort. No matter what she put on, she would always be the blood royal._

_Her eyes wandered again to the suppressant bottles. The foremost one in the line was marked ‘2’ on the label with the sweeping, slashing strokes of her father’s hand. The one he’d given her on the boat had a similar label, only with ‘1’. She knew what the intent was; she had successfully managed to get here to the mansion on a contrived purpose, in order to have some time to recover from the suppressant. She was supposed to down the bottle now (there was even a small bowl with a pastel array of pleasing mints for the aftertaste) and lay on her bed in the room until it was passed. But, with the Lieutenant in the hall, lurking just around any corner, and her father stewing into a fine seethe over in the far wing, she didn’t much feel like resting here. The mansion, not for the first time in her life, felt like an unsafe place to surrender her guard to the effects of the drug. In fact, she realized as she absent-mindedly fingered the label of the bottle, she definitely felt safer at the island, with Tenzin and the White Lotus there. She hadn’t known them long, but the master airbender had already proved himself tentative and kind, with a conscientious respect to her position, and the White Lotus guards were far more courteous than even her father’s own staff, making sure to avoid staring or making lewd comments when she left Korra’s rooms._

_And the Avatar….well, their nightly trysts were certainly not something that should inspire trust. Korra was often so rough with her that she left bruises, and while Asami always orgasmed under her touch, her attentions seemed careless, distracted by brooding inner turmoil. Asami knew, deeply, that Korra did not want to be fucking her like a slave. Korra wanted to treat her like a mate, and had since their first encounter, but there were so many layers of painful deception that the Avatar didn’t want to admit it. She knew how that felt….Asami didn’t want to admit it to herself, but just touching Korra was enough to make her want to confess her crimes, and bow her head for the Avatar’s savage revenge, because anything would be better than the relentless guilt she felt looking into those ice-blue eyes. She didn’t want to hurt Korra, and Korra didn’t want to hurt her, but it was all so confusing and neither could make the first move for fear of being harmed by the other more than they already had been…_

_At any rate, despite her conflicting relationship with her contracted bed partner, Asami knew she’d be safer on the island than in her own home, and that was a mildly disturbing thought. She palmed the suppressant, slipping it into a secret pocket inside her jacket so as not to confuse it with the perfume, and made up her mind: she would have at least a few hours before Korra summoned her imperiously to her chambers, and that was plenty of time to gossip with Opal by the ponds, as well as to take the suppressant and suffer an hour of aftereffects. Korra never asked for her before sundown, as if the daylight was too truthful to use her in, so that was fine. She’d have plenty of time. She patted the bulge in her jacket and made her exit…._

But now, she realized all-too-late as Korra paused to search her face, she had a dilemma. Korra had surprised her, not only with her sudden affection, but also with timing. There was no way to excuse herself now to take the drug; her absence would be far too conspicuous. She slung her arms around the Avatar’s neck and arranged her lips into a smile, hoping that the fervent inner chastising she was silently giving herself did not show on her face. She’d just have to take it tonight, afterwards, and hope that it would be fine…she should still have a few days before her heat, if her calculations were correct (and she prided herself on being invariably spot-on accurate). Korra wouldn’t want her to stay the night; that wasn’t their pattern, even with her newfound sweetness, and besides, even if she did, Korra never came inside her. That resolved things quite handily. She raised her eyes back to the Avatar’s worried eyes, stroking the hairs at the nape of her heated, tanned neck.

But Korra wasn’t looking at her, she was looking at the collar. Her gaze had zeroed in on it, and her eyes were dark. “Do you want me to take that off?” She asked.

Asami was surprised at the question, and even more surprised at her internal vehement reaction to the idea of having the collar removed. _There must be something wrong with me,_ she thought, but without much malice. She shook her head and smiled. “You know, for someone who goes around handing out alpha collars, you sure do seem to be having second thoughts about it.” She teased.

“I was being an ass.” Korra admitted, quietly. Despite Asami’s smile, she was still looking pensive.

“You were.” Asami confirmed, but stroked the back of her neck to soften the blow. She wasn’t about to let Korra off the hook, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be kind about it. “Just like you’ve been being an ass about me coming to your bed, but I appreciate that you’re acknowledging it now.”

Korra blanched, but Asami continued, hoping to prevail. “You don’t have to feel guilty. I like what we’ve been doing. I’d just like a little more kissing and sweet talk, too.” She offered brightly.

The young alpha’s face softened. “I can do that.” She smiled and leaned up to plant a kiss on the curve of the omega’s jaw, just under her chin. “You smell _really_ good, by the way.”

“So do you.” Asami took a breath. She wasn’t lying; Korra smelled like sheer sex right now, all alpha and primed with her overwhelming power. The four elements gifted Korra with a constant, all-consuming wave of alpha authority, and it was easy to feel weak in the knees around her. She dropped her head, seeking those perfect, bruising lips once more, and Korra groaned into her mouth and tightened her hold on Asami’s waist.

Somehow, lurching and stumbling, stealing kisses and giggling as they trod on each other’s toes, they made it to Korra’s room. Asami was hungry, feeling wolfish and primal. She started a wet, sucking trail of kisses down Korra’s lean neck and to her chest as her fingers worked on the ties of her shirt, pulling it hastily open. She moaned delightedly into the exposed flesh there, and Korra helped her efforts; shrugging her shirt off and quickly stripping out of her breast band. Asami hadn’t had the chance to truly appreciate Korra’s breasts before, and she took full advantage of her newfound opportunity, kissing and stroking the firm, full mounds, much larger than her own, and drawing her fingernails in taunting circles around her stiffening brown peaks. Korra was gasping and panting by the time Asami took a nipple into her mouth, laving it with her tongue and using her sharp teeth to gently nip at it.

Korra was pulling insistently at her shoulders, trying to pull her up for a kiss or to remove her own clothes, but she ignored it. Her belly was pressed against the heat of the Avatar’s rising erection, hard against her abdominal muscles, and she was rubbing into it, coaxing it into full firmness. Her whole focus had drilled down to Korra’s cock, and suddenly her lips ached to wrap around it. If she was in her right mind, she would’ve been startled to recognize this as the onset of an early heat, but she was not, and so she did not.

Instead, Asami’s fingers fairly flew at the ties of Korra’s waistband, dropping her pants to her ankles and helping to Avatar step out of them. She dropped a searing, reassuring kiss on the fabric-covered bulge at the join of her alpha’s legs, eliciting a sharp intake of breath, and stepped back, shimmying her pants down over her hips even as she slipped open the buttons of her jacket. A sudden reminder of the bottle in her pocket had her careful to place her jacket over a chair, even as Korra growled and came up behind her to start clumsily attempting to undo her complicated and expensive black bra. She let the alpha sweat over it for a moment before batting her hands away and easily popping the snaps open, letting her breasts fall into Korra’s waiting hands.  
  
Korra groaned deeply, but Asami was already spinning them, dropping to her knees in one fluid motion as her hands went to pull Korra’s shorts down. Her thick, heavy cock sprung free between them, already dripping with pre-come at the tip, and Asami couldn’t deny her aching tongue a taste any longer, even with Korra’s shorts trapping her at the ankles. She leaned forward and engulfed the tip in her mouth, enjoying Korra’s sudden hiss of breath.

“Asami, _fuck_ , wait, let me…” But whatever Korra was about to say was lost in a moan as the Avatar tipped her head back. Thanks to their nightly sessions, Asami had become more comfortable taking the alpha’s cock deeper in her throat, so she’d skipped the pretense and gotten busy swallowing Korra’s length, working down until her lips touched her fist, wrapped around the base. She allowed herself a moment of congratulatory smugness at the Avatar’s overt enjoyment, but then resumed her task, flickering her tongue along the shaft as she bobbed her head.

Korra’s taste was salty-sweet, caramel like her skin, but with a rush of ocean to the tongue. Asami moaned around her cock, closing her eyes as she gave herself over to the sumptuousness of it. She hadn’t enjoyed giving with her mouth this much before, since Korra was usually busily pumping to the back of her throat…but this time around, it was almost as if _she_ had the Avatar at her mercy. She took her time with low, worshipful strokes of her tongue, along with the steady grip of her hand at the base, which was swollen with need. Her head dipped to open for the length of it, and she enjoyed the lusty groans this brought out of her alpha.

 _Her_ alpha. The thought was intrusive, but not unpleasant. The Avatar had showed possession to her with the collar, and now she was offering it back, with her mouth and her eyes, which she now tilted up to catch the view. And what a view it was. Korra had her head back and she was panting with her eyes screwed shut, her mouth hanging open, as her hands fisted in Asami’s hair, not yet pulling as she had done before, but tight with the tension of her impending orgasm. She wanted to thrust, Asami was sure of it, but she was holding back. That wouldn’t do. Not at _all_. 

She resumed her efforts, closing her eyes and removing her fist to sink fully down, leaving a lipstick imprint around Korra’s base. The immensity of the Avatar’s erection was hard to take all the way, but she managed, breathing through her nose, and the surprised yelp was more than gratifying. She didn’t have to suffer long; Korra was already coming explosively by the time she raised herself up for a second pass. She swallowed, taking each heady shot as it came, and worked her tongue along the divot in the pulsing head to catch still more drops, feeling greedy.

Finally, Korra was pulling her up, moaning incoherently, and kissing her all over. It was a messy, off-target kiss, and it mostly ended up smearing Korra’s come all over their combined faces, but it was beautiful because it was the first time the Avatar had ever kissed her after finding her release. Asami felt herself getting wetter and wetter as her alpha tugged her insistently back to the bed, their knees knocking and-

And then Korra fell.

In all their haste, both of them had forgotten about Korra’s underwear, still tangled around her ankles. With a surprised ‘ _oof_ ’, the young alpha tumbled to the floor, landing on her bottom. For a moment neither of them moved. Then Asami snorted, and then she chortled, and then she was bawling with laughter, tears squeezing from her eyes, as Korra sheepishly joined in.

“This is your fault, you know.” The Avatar joked at her as she pulled her come-drenched underwear off an ankle and flung it to one side.

”You should come punish me, then.” 

Asami was still giggling but she shrieked playfully as the alpha growled and lunged at her, gathering her up in her strong arms. She was tossed onto the bed, bouncing with impact, and as she caught her breath, Korra was crawling up her body, pinning her to the sheets. The gesture had her shifting almost immediately from high-pitched laughter to a breathy little hitch when she felt Korra’s steadily re-stiffening cock drag against her stomach as the Avatar pulled her arms above her head.

Korra grinned, and the smugness sent a thrill through Asami’s belly. She tried to rally, throwing a leg over Korra’s hip, and grinding up, eliciting a soft gasp. “You gonna stare at me all night?” She taunted. Her body was shivering with anticipation.

“Just taking my time. Since you took such good care of me...” Korra’s eyes dropped down her stomach and she sucked in a breath, as the realization hit. _Oh Spirits, she means to….No one’s ever…._

Before Asami could process the roil of her surging desire, insecurity and anxiety, Korra’s nipping, sucking kisses were skating over the plane of her hip bones, leading down to her panties. She’d forgot she was even wearing them, but she remembered now as Korra’s breath dampened the fabric. Her tongue shot out, tracing the outline of Asami’s delicate, puffy folds through the silk, and Asami nearly arched off the bed. “ _Korra_! You-“

“Shhh…just let me…” The alpha soothed. Her fingers came up to the edge of the panties, drawing them down. Asami lifted her hips and felt them disappear from her body, probably flying to join Korra’s on the floor. She’d never felt this exposed, this vulnerable. She was spread for the Avatar’s view, and it was both terrifying and arousing. The urge to cover herself was strong, but she held her breath, letting her hips quiver. And then Korra’s tongue slipped along her outer lips and she lost conscious thought.

Korra wasn’t experienced at oral sex with woman, but it didn’t matter. Asami was so worked up that every tentative glide of the Avatar’s tongue was enough to make her clench her fists and thrash wildly. Korra put a hand on her pelvis with a warm chuckle, and although the alpha was pressing gently, the motion was enough to still her. Blue eyes flashed to hers with sudden knowledge; Korra noticed that. The Avatar’s other hand crept up, grazing her nipples, and she moaned wantonly, but her moan turned into a high-pitched whine of sheer _need_ when Korra’s hand sought further and found her collar, just touching the silver band.

Korra smiled into her, and that’s when her tongue swept around Asami’s swollen clit. The flickering motion of her wet, slick muscle pushed the sensations from the omega’s body without her full understanding of how or why….she just knew she was enjoying it, enjoying it like nothing she’d ever felt and she was rushing towards a precipice, a cliff of massive proportions. She was panting, thrashing, fisting the sheets and Korra’s hair, and little ‘ _oh oh oh_ ’s were slipping from her lips as if pulled by a string.

When her orgasm hit, it bent her back like a bow as she screamed. It may have been Korra’s name; she didn’t know. It didn’t end, though, it kept going and going like waves hitting the shore, until her shaking thighs were limp and the sheets below her ass were puddled in her own slick release. Korra lapped up every drop, pulsing her lips around the omega’s pulsating clit for more, as Asami moaned brokenly, like a morning dove, seemingly unable to stop. She closed her eyes, hands falling loose to her sides, and let out a soft sigh as Korra’s mouth finally left her, somehow knowing that the stimulus had become too much.

“ _Mmmm_ …” The alpha purred, and Asami opened one eye to see Korra licking her lips. She shuddered, and then let out a low moan as she felt strong fingers dip inside of her, briefly, but enough to make her pulse again. Korra snaked back up her body, and her other hand came up to firmly grasp Asami’s chin, tilting her head back. The heiress surrendered to the touch, parting her lips obediently as Korra’s fingers slid over them.

“Suck.” Korra ordered, but the command was breathless and sweet, and it was a thrill to obey. She encouraged Korra’s coated fingers deeper into her mouth with her beckoning tongue, and tasted her own sweet wetness all over them, which only aroused her more. She moaned around the digits, and her eyes fluttered back closed as she worked her tongue to clean every last drop from Korra’s knuckles. The Avatar moaned right back, clearly affected by the sight and the sucking pull of Asami’s mouth, and she released the alpha’s fingers with a wet pop, just in time to have her swoop down for another kiss.

Their mouths were hot with each other’s taste, and it was only rekindling the fire. Korra was hard again, rubbing against her, and the drag of her glistening cockhead against Asami’s skin was setting the embers ablaze. She grew bold, and her hand shot down between their bodies, stroking the pearly drops from the tip to spread on her belly, pumping lazily as their tongues dueled. Korra broke away to growl against the collar on her neck, and again, the possessive reminder made her body sing with want. “Korra,” she panted, pushing at the Avatar’s broad shoulders. “ _Inside_ ….”

The alpha rushed to comply, groaning as she shifted her hips down. She reached down, knuckles bumping Asami’s still moving fist, and forcibly brushed her aside, guiding her cock down to rest between the slick, pouting outer lips of Asami’s pussy. They both moaned, then, foreheads leaning against each other, and Korra was clearly trying to focus through the haze of ardor long enough to find Asami’s entrance in all of her post-orgasmic slick. The heiress had the presence of mind to tilt her hips up, which brought the blunt tip sharply against her, almost sinking in, but not quite. Tears of frustration were almost coming to her eyes and she raked at Korra’s back with her nails, until the Avatar managed to line her slippery cock up.

The first thrust almost brought her to a wail. Korra was big, and the stretch was always an adjustment, but after so many nights of roughness, the tenderness in which Korra now showed her, stilling to look into her face with worried eyes, it almost broke her in half. She nodded, tightly, unable to speak with so many emotions inside, and was immediately gratified when Korra began to move again, slowly rolling her hips. The angle brought a gasp from her throat, and she dug in her nails, marking the Avatar’s back with red ribbons.

“Asami…” Korra moaned into her ear, voice crackling as her hips began a steady, thumping rhythm. “You feel so good…so beautiful…I don’t know if I’ll last long…” As if to punctuate that statement, her hips started jarring, picking up pace. There was so much heat, so much wetness slipping between their bodies that the glide was like silk, but edged with steel when the broadest part of Korra’s head battered against her front wall. 

“Don’t,” The omega panted back, lifting her hips to allow Korra deeper on each lunge of the Avatar’s lean form above her. Her hands slid to Korra’s ass and pulled her closer. “Don’t hold back…I want you…I want you to-“ Her back arched as the Avatar’s fingers slid over her clit, clearly aiming to bring Asami with her. “ _Ah_!”

She kept trying to get the words out, almost biting her own tongue as the force of the alpha’s jogging hips brought her closer and closer to that wonderful cliff’s edge again. Finally she managed to gasp them out, just as she felt Korra’s ass twitch with the tension of needing to pull out. “Come in me, Korra, _do it_ , I want you to _come in me_ -!” Her voice broke off on a keening wail as the alpha’s fingers succeeded in their efforts.

But she was not alone. Korra’s breath caught as Asami’s pulsating, fluttering inner muscles drew her length deeper, greedily locking her cock inside, and the Avatar couldn’t take it anymore. She groaned Asami’s name, sending the omega into another series of shudders, and, finally, achingly, she released her hot spurts of come into Asami’s welcoming depths. The omega’s body rippled with desire, wanting more, wanting a knot to hold the seed inside and ensure that she was bred, well and truly, but without her heat, she knew that wouldn’t happen. Still, her pussy ached for a second stretch, and her neck longed for the sharp imprint of Korra’s bite.

A brief flaring realization hit; Korra had come inside her, and was still, even now, in the process of emptying herself, grunting as her ass clenched under Asami’s hands. She hadn’t taken the suppressant, and now _Korra had come inside her._ She might be able to still take it tomorrow, but she was playing a dangerous game. Sooner or later, everything would fall apart, and she had a sinking suspicion it would be sooner, but there was a selfish little voice inside of her urging her not to care, to keep milking Korra’s cock for all she could get. 

Korra groaned with finality, and slumped forward, resting her head on Asami’s chest, her body heaving. Asami’s hands moved to her back, and tightened, and she pressed a kiss to the Avatar’s sweaty jaw. Tomorrow. She would worry about the consequences tomorrow. Tonight, she would enjoy everything for the stolen gift that it was.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami’s heat begins, and unhappy truths are revealed in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick update here and then more smut coming soon. I don’t mean to be a tease (oh but I do and I am) but we’ve gotta stretch the plot a bit more before the big knotting scene!

The morning dawned before she was fully aware. Had she slept? It was hard to say, but she didn’t feel tired. Her body was warm and comfortable, with a pleasant ache between her legs that, for once, wasn’t accompanied by a bruising feeling. And she wasn’t alone. Korra’s sleep-tousled head was on the pillow beside her, mouth agape, and the drooling, uncouth Avatar was so heart-achingly beautiful that it burned. Asami shifted; their limbs were tangled, with Korra’s leg thrown easily over hers, arms draped along the small of her back. Strangely, although it was softened, Korra’s cock was still present, languid against her thigh, and that wrinkled her brow in confusion. _That shouldn’t happen unless…_

 _Oh no_. It hit her at once. She wasn’t just warm. She was starting to become hot. _Heat_ hot. Her gaze moved frantically to her jacket, still hanging on the back of a chair, where the suppressant waited in her pocket. She had to take it, and now, before her symptoms worsened and her body began to cycle, drawing in the attention of alphas for miles around, and, among them, the Avatar.

 _Would that be so bad?_ Her heat brain was already whispering into her ears, and she shifted again, this time uncomfortably aware that the lingering wetness from last night was now being joined by a fresh flood. _The Avatar is the strongest alpha, the alpha, and she wants you, wants to breed you. Damn your father, damn your family name, let it happen, let it-_

“Mmmm…” Korra moaned happily in her sleep. The alpha had caught wind. Her nostrils twitched and her slack jaw drew in on a dopey smile as she inhaled. She nuzzled into Asami, stroking her body, and each touch only inflamed the omega further, but that wasn’t the only thing awakened; Korra was starting to stiffen again, her body instinctively responding to the call of Asami’s heat. It wouldn’t be long before that hardness was molten steel, swelling and thickening further to fill the omega, readying for breeding in a way that her previous erections couldn’t compare to, even before her knot began. Asami licked her lips. Maybe she could just sneak a quick kiss on that red, flared tip…

 _Fuck_. She jolted herself out of her stupor, feeling inanely hazy. She’d always taken suppressant with such calculated precision before, and, aside from her first, she hadn’t experienced a full-blown heat in years. The curling, whispering tendrils of arousal slipping into her mind were so seductive that she didn’t think she could stand it much longer before she did something rash. Every hair on her body was standing on end, and little goose-pimples raced along her exposed, naked limbs, tingling throughout, as her belly trembled and flip-flopped.

She had to get out. She had to get to the suppressant and lock herself away for as long as it took to take effect. No matter how pleasantly warm and inviting the grasp of Korra’s body was on hers, she had to get up. Panic seared through her mind as she fought to lift her uncooperative limbs; because she hadn’t had a heat in her adult life, she had no idea what to expect, especially in the presence of such a physically strong and dominant alpha, but she’d heard stories, and that was what was worrisome. The Avatar already had the strongest pull of any alpha, and she wasn’t sure what the heady rush of a blood royal heat would do to her. Korra could go wild, losing all restraint. Part of her thrilled to that idea, delighted at the prospect of seeing her alpha in a primal mating frenzy…but that was madness, and severe foolishness in her condition. She _had_ to get _out_.

Dragging her limbs away from Korra’s warmth was nearly impossible, and she bit her lip as the exquisite sensations prolonged with each torturously slow movement. She needed to go slow, no matter how her body screamed to get it done, rip it off like a bandage, because if she jerked too fast, Korra would wake. Biting her lip against the moan that wanted to escape as she began to pull away, she nevertheless gasped heedlessly when the Avatar’s insistent, sleepy arms pulled her back again.

“Asami…” Korra shifted and sighed, breathing in her scent once more. The Avatar’s hips began to churn, graceless with sleep, and her unconscious movements were pushing the resistance from Asami’s wanton, reckless brain. She let a gasp slip out, and fought a losing battle against her impulse to grind her ass back against Korra’s warm, heavy cock. The gasp did it, though. Blue eyes popped open, still blurry from sleep, but already blackened with desire.

“Morning,” the Avatar murmured into her hair, as her hands began to roam Asami’s body with alertness. “You look just as good as you did last night… _mmm_ …how is that possible?”

Asami had to laugh. “I don’t think you’ve ever seen me naked in daylight before,” she teased, “must be quite the change.” Without thinking she was caressing the alpha’s sleepy head, running her nails through a few curls to smooth them out. Her body was longing, calling for Korra’s touch, and the hands currently cupping her breasts were welcome, despite the hazy realization, somewhere deep down, that she was getting lost again.

“I plan to see a lot more of you with proper lighting,” the alpha purred appreciatively, and suddenly Asami was being rolled, pulled onto Korra’s body like a rag doll. She gave a little yelp, feeling her skin burn and sing with stars exploding behind her eyes at every contact between their naked bodies. She rocked, instinctive, and felt Korra’s length slide against her belly, smearing her with glistening trails.

“Oh _fuck_ , Asami,” Korra swore, and the sound was gravelly, deepening as her body surged below the omega’s heedless, messy grinding. “You’re so hot…you smell so good…something’s _different_.” She moaned the last word out, trying to focus as slender fingers played over the divot at the head of her tip, collecting the wetness there.

Asami sucked her fingers clean with a wet pop. “It’s-“ _It’s my heat_ , she almost responded. _I want you and it’s my heat, come fill me up, tigerwolf. Come be my alpha. Come destroy me like you own me, because you do, you actually_ do. She shook her head, panting. Her vision blurred. “I’m-“ But again, the words couldn’t escape. She gripped Korra’s shoulders helplessly, beginning another slow grind with her fluted, hourglass hips.

Korra stilled her. “Are you okay?” She asked, worried, even as her cock continued to swell and her hands clenched the bedsheet beside her, ripping unconscious slashes in the fabric, and the concern touched Asami like a blooming dollop of butter into a hot pan: it melted her. “I don’t…Asami, what’s happening right now?”

“Shit.” She actually gasped the word out loud before she realized she’d only meant to curse internally. Rabid panic was welling at the base of her stomach, sickening and smothering her arousal. Korra was being so kind, if not a little naïve, but neither of them would be able to be kind and coherent for long if she kept this up. She needed to get her wits about her.

_Don’t let her claim you. You are a Sato. You are a Sato._

She shuddered, but the unwelcome voice in her head did the trick. She lifted herself off of Korra, moaning at the loss of contact, and fairly flung herself over the edge of the bed. The Avatar lifted herself on her elbows. “Asami?”

“I’m okay!” She called from the floor, voice crackling like a teen alpha pup as she crouched, trying to resist the urge to present on all fours from her already-similar position. She got to her shaky feet, careful to keep her thighs together to stem some of the overflow from her weeping, wanting pussy, but Korra could smell it, obviously, and her eyes darted right to the source. Asami cleared her throat, trying to focus her eyes even as the room spun around her and the only clarity she could find was in her alpha’s eyes. “I just…ah…feel a little sick, I might be getting a fever.” She groped behind her for the chair, and found her jacket and pants. “I think I need to take a cold shower.” _In so many ways_ , her lascivious brain continued.

Korra was confused, and it stilted her arousal, somewhat, although her body was still responding to the ever-growing call of Asami’s pheromones. “Are you okay?” She repeated, beginning to draw herself up. “I can do some healing or maybe-“

“ _No_!” The omega squeaked, knees nearly buckling as she backed towards the bathroom door, clutching her clothes. “Just, ah…give me a moment and I’ll be right back, okay?” She tried for a reassuring smile. “We were having too much fun to stay away.”

Korra seemed mollified, at least for now, and her face softened as she opened her mouth to tease back, but Asami was already fleeing, once more, into the bathroom, and slamming the door, which rocked on its hinges. She stumbled to the sink, splashing water on her face, and tried to simply breathe without smelling the rough alpha musk, but it was futile. Every breath was thick with the seductive dominant call of Korra’s scent, which spoke of glaciers of blue, ancient ice, and vast tangled seaweed beds beneath the ocean…just right for a silly little omega like her to drown in, if she wasn’t careful.

And she _hadn’t_ been careful, had been downright foolish, and now she was in a precarious situation. Korra would expect her out soon…she didn’t have time to dawdle over the effects and worry about being found out. Her heat was already cycling, and fast; before long she would be unable to override her own training, no matter what her father wanted. Never mind what she wanted, or what she knew she’d wanted, from the very moment she’d first kissed Korra….that was not the plan, not her duty.

With trembling, aching fingers, she withdrew the bottle from her secret pocket, as the water ran in the sink behind her, forgotten. She was still naked with a silver collar around her neck, and even without the discomfort of clothes on her body, she was sweating everywhere but under the silver, in a light sheen that made her pale skin look oiled. The collar was a blessed, comforting coolness, which was a relief in her frenzied state, but it was also reminding her of Korra. Of the enveloping, passionate wealth of the alpha’s aura.

She shuddered and tried to unscrew the stopper but her fingers wouldn’t cooperate. _No, no, no_ , her inner omega resisted. _No, I can’t, I can’t_ , the dutiful daughter in her replied, and the two voices warred ceaselessly while her hand clenched and unclenched on the stopper. The thought of taking the vile substance was even more repellant than usual, and she had to swallow a rise in her throat as she stared stupidly down at the bottle as if it would magically disappear.

“Asami?” Too late, far too late, she realized the door had been open a crack, thanks to her inelegant slam, and the Avatar had entered the bathroom. She may have even made noise, but in the omega’s hyped state, she hadn’t noticed right up until the point at which the Avatar was coming up behind her, preparing to put her arms around her waist.. _Oh Spirits no-_ was all she had time to think, and then the alpha’s eyes dropped to the bottle in her hand. “Asami, what the hell is _that_?”

She closed her eyes, feeling a wave of nausea break over her as Korra’s hands dug into her shoulders and spun her around. Korra’s grip caught her wrist, and the fingers forced her fist open, none-too-gently, to reveal the dark liquid sloshing in the bottle. “Is that…” Asami whimpered as Korra’s breath sucked in. “ _Is that a suppressant?_ ”

Asami moaned, feeling broken and lost in a thousand different ways. Her heat was making anything other than honesty impossible. “Yes.” She admitted.

Korra’s body quivered with anger. “I can’t believe this. You’re taking a suppressant.” She leaned in and sniffed again, and Asami could feel her fury intensify. “And you’re in heat! _That’s_ why you smell so good; you’re in heat and you’re trying to stop it before I can breed you.”

The omega’s eyes flashed open at the tantrum-y tone. “And so what if I am?” She challenged, and pushed Korra back, starting the Avatar into a stumble. “Don’t I get a choice in all this? You and my father and the White Lotus…all you care about is breeding me! Shouldn’t I get a say?”

“Your father will start a war. Amon wants to see all benders made equal, he wants to remove my bending!” Korra’s fists were clenched and she was seething, blowing little blue flames. “Deny that it was his idea. _Deny it_.”

Asami’s eyes dropped. She couldn’t, and they both knew it; her body’s call was so strong it was hard for her to even remain upright around the alpha, no matter how absolutely humiliating that would be right now. “You don’t understand,” she tried, “I don’t want this but he’ll-“

“He’ll what? Disown you? Take away your pretty toys?” Korra snarled, stalking closer. “So you’ll just break my heart, just like you did Mako’s, even though I _know_ you feel something for me-“

“You don’t know anything about what he’d do, or what happened with Mako and I.” Asami spat back, holding her ground. Her fingers flexed, and she unconsciously dropped into a stance, readying herself for combat if need be. It was said the sometimes a heat’s effects could go sour, and become violent, and if that was the case, chi-blocking might be her only defense against the Avatar.

Korra’s eyes widened in shock and she sucked in a wrenching breath. “ _You_!” She gasped, pointing. “I know that stance; _you_ were the chi-blocker that night, the one who attacked us.” The Avatar’s face tightened as she saw the guilty confirmation flash over the heiress’ green eyes. “I knew it, you were in on it the whole time. The _whole_ time. And I’m the idiot for trusting you.” The hurt in her voice was so raw it nearly made Asami bleed with the urge to soothe it, to chase away her alpha’s fears and anger.

“Korra, it’s not like that,” she took a step forward, and raised her fingers, pleading. “You have to know, I never wanted to hurt you, but my father will hurt you more if I resist, you have to believe-“

“Believe you?” The alpha snorted derisively and her anguished look was enough to send a shard of pain through Asami like a knife. “You have got to be kidding me. You’ve been lying this whole time! You probably planned this down to the letter and you were going to report back to your dear old daddy.” She tossed her handsome head, hissing. “I can’t believe we all trusted you; sure, we knew your father was an Equalist through and through, but Tenzin thought you were-“

“ _Korra_ , I’m not-“

“Don’t even say it,” the alpha threatened, menacing with a growl and a rise of her hackles. “You’re nothing but a spy. And _begging_ me to come inside you last night? What was that all about, huh?”

“I _wanted it_!” Asami shouted, at last, fist almost shattering the glass of the bottle. When Korra cast her a wild, suspicious look, she slumped her shoulders. “I wanted you. I want you, Korra, but my father will never let us be together, even if I begged him. He’s never going to give up, not after what happened to my mother.” She raised her eyes to Korra’s, heart breaking as she readied herself for the ultimate rejection. _Now I’ve well and truly fucked up, she thought bitterly. My father will probably kill me and my chosen alpha won’t want anything to do with me_. Throughout it all, shamefully, her body was throbbing with the pulse of desire at having Korra so close, but that was deeply embarrassing.

The alpha was shaking, looking at her clenched fists as if they would save her. “You don’t mean that,” she started to say, but again, the childish note in her voice sent something in Asami’s blood boiling.

“Oh yeah?” She challenged, almost yelling. She held the suppressant bottle between her thumb and forefinger, letting it dangle. Korra’s eyes rounded as she understood the threat, and the intent.

“You don’t know _anything_ about me, Avatar.” She hissed, and threw the bottle to the ground, where it immediately shattered. She stepped to Korra in one motion and grabbed the Avatar by her shoulders, swallowing her shock in a heatwave of a kiss. 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blood royal heat begins. Smut incoming <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Sorry again for mild delay: work decided to be crazy this week and I got a little blocked and short on alone time to write, but it’s done. Enjoy your smutty smut smut. 
> 
> Next chapter will be Asami POV and maybe some anal if you’re lucky.

Korra was overwhelmed. She remembered, in a rush, the first days of firebending training. How the flame seemed beyond mastery, beyond her skill. Kissing Asami was like trying to bend fire to your will, trying to make sense of chaotic creation and destruction all in one. Their mouths warred, speaking all of their angry words in slips of tongue and teeth, but the endless pleasure of it was dampening all of her furious thoughts. Korra’s skin raced with the heat pouring off of Asami’s pale body, warming her complexion like a drop of blood in a snowfall as a flush seared across her exposed upper chest and thighs. The Avatar was _burning_ with it and she was just standing near her; she couldn’t imagine what the omega was feeling, but she was certainly moaning into Korra’s lips like she was in some kind of a pleasurable agony.

Despite all the years of having the marriage prospect omegas at the ready, this was the first heat the young alpha had ever experienced that devastated her senses like this. She had been angry, furious even, but all of that was being smothered under this not-unwelcome-but-also-oppressive blanket of scent and need and swelling lust. She almost couldn’t even remember her own name. She broke the kiss to hungrily push her nose below Asami’s pulse, inhaling until her chest was tight and her vision blurred. Her cock was swelled to instant, throbbing hardness again from her brief respite in the fight, and now it was practically screaming at her with aching fullness, spilling a copious stream of pre-come, more than she thought was humanly possible, drenching the pale thigh she rubbed insistently against, lost to anything but primal instinct. She had a moment to be grateful that they were both still naked, and then her thoughts dropped significantly lower, even as her cock rose. 

“Korra,” the writhing, collared goddess snaking against her chest was struggling to speak, stuck on her name, which she kept repeating on a breathless whine. “Korra, Korra!”

Her hand wrapped fully around the alpha’s straining length, and the contact made them both moan with the intensity, but, undeterred, she began a slow, seductive pump of her fist, bringing the pressure up from the base to the tip, and more rivers coated her fingers in trails of glistening pearly-white. Korra nearly doubled over; suddenly the urge to come was embarrassingly strong, made only worse by the rise and fall of Asami’s slick fingers.

“Stop that,” she tried ordering through clenched teeth, but the blood royal only looked at her through a black fringe of lashes and licked her lips, giving another slow pump. There was clearly no reasoning with her in this state: with the suppressant gone, her restraint had disappeared and her eyes were nearly all pupil, dilated with lust. There was very little Asami left in there; she had succumbed to her inner omega. Korra could only watch, awestruck, as that sleek white wrist glided down for another pass. “Fuck,” she hissed, and grabbed Asami’s hand to still her. “You have to stop or I think I’m actually gonna come. This is… _hfff_ …ridiculous.”

Asami instantly warmed to the idea, perfect wine-colored lips opening in an ‘o’. A needy shudder ran through her body, and she dropped to her knees, letting out a low purr. “In my mouth?” She asked, and the way she cocked her head and lifted her eyes in a green, pleading haze was enough to make Korra come right there.

Which she did. Humiliatingly quickly.

Hot spurts ran from her swollen base to the tip of her cock in a sudden, unexpected rush. She only had time to gasp in arousal-horror as her release splashed across Asami’s open mouth, nowhere near the desired warmth of her lips. She jerked her hips unconsciously, and the next gush hit across her omega’s beautiful, proud breasts, coating one rosy-pink nipple in a creamy-white sheen, while the next ran off-kilter and managed to land partially in her hair, partially on the tiled floor of the bathroom, muddying into the pool of suppressant as if in some kind of deeply ironic tableau.

All in all, it was an enormous mess, and the worst part of it was, she was still just as hard after her orgasm as she had been before, but this time her cock was coated in come and Asami looked like she’d just been witness to a pearly-white massacre. Korra’s eyes bulged as she took in the omega’s shocked expression.

“Oh I am so _sorry_ , I had no idea that would happen, I swear I- _aaahhhfuck_!” She let out a strangled yelp as Asami leaned forward to begin cleaning her cock with long swipes of her tongue, briefly drawing the fat head between her lips to seek any remaining spurts. Korra watched in a mixture of shock and awe as the gorgeous omega released her cock with a loving last sweep, and licked her lips, catlike, moaning as she closed her eyes in abject pleasure.

Korra couldn’t take anymore. She was inexperienced, true, but the alpha in her had been roaring for what felt like hours now to take, claim and fill, and there was a heat-ridden, breedable omega waiting at her feet. No further prompting was needed. She sank to her own knees, hungrily kissing Asami as they shared her taste between their tongues, and she guided her lover onto her back on the floor of the bathroom, noting in sympathy how the lovely omega moaned in relief where her skin touched the cool tile. Somewhere above them, the sink was still running, heedlessly, and the rushing noise was almost a compliment to the surging within Korra’s body, but she flicked a wrist in irritation and the sound cut off as the water died. She sighed in approval and lowered herself onto her elbows above Asami, groaning as their pelvises met in a heated kiss. Now there was nothing to distract her from knotting the squirming, pliable little heiress below her.

 _Knotting_.

The idea, even in her lust-addled mind, stopped her for the briefest of seconds, even as she was thrusting inadvertently against Asami’s stomach, further drenching her. She looked down at the omega below her, assessing. Asami was obviously not in her right mind, absolutely destroyed by the full-blown onset of her heat, and while normally this was never a problem for the young alpha before with other omegas, this time was different. This time, as opposed to the others, she actually wanted to rut and breed, and this time, unlike any other, she was worried about the consequences of that action.

Her base was already thickening with a delicious pressure she had never felt before. She was definitely going to knot, and Asami needed to be aware of it. They had never discussed this, partially because it was the foundation upon which their entire little arranged contract had been built, but also because it was uncomfortably omnipresent between them. There had never been the right time. And now, when Asami was a black-eyed creature of pure desire whimpering and moaning and slithering her hips to catch the graze of Korra’s cock against her….this was definitely _not_ the right time. But it had to happen.

She had to make Asami return to herself long enough to focus, but how remained to be seen...at least until her eyes landed on the collar at the omega’s throat, now spattered with droplets of the Avatar’s come, further marking her as owned property. The thought did give her inner alpha a lustful roaring thrill, but she shook her thoughts back to more appropriate places with an impatient toss of her head. The collar might just do the trick. She slid her fingers around the edge of the silver band, and gave a gentle tug, tightening her grip.

It worked, and the speed was instantaneous. Asami hitched her breath and her eyes widened, green flooding back around the edges as her irises returned. She blinked, slowly, as if concentrating was extremely difficult, and Korra cupped her face, leaning over her on one elbow.

“I can’t hold back. I’m going to knot you.” She explained, her voice rough with the effort of restraining her passion. “If you don’t want that, you need to let me know, right now.”

Asami looked with some difficulty and nodded. “I want it.” She closed her eyes and bit her lip, rolling back on the floor. “Oh, Korra, I want your knot _so bad_ ….” Her moan was so open with need that it was shattering every piece of resolve the Avatar had left.

But she persisted, and she didn’t know why, even as her fingers rubbed gently against the underside of the collar. It was stupid, absolutely stupid, to try to be honorable with a wet and willing omega almost begging for her cock, but she had this deep, inner feeling it wouldn’t be right, it wasn’t enough. Maybe Tenzin was rubbing off on her after all…but she didn’t want to think about her teacher right now. She forced herself to speak again, even as the omega was lifting her hips in a wordless plea, grazing her bobbing cock. “Fuck, _stop that_. Asami, I’m serious, you know what that means, right?”

 _You’ll be married to me, if you conceive_ , her brain supplied, and the thought didn’t send the usual stab of fear through her spine that it had in the past. Instead, a warm, spreading glow was coming from her chest and melting into her loins, and she felt strangely excited beyond just the arousal at the thought of impregnating Asami with her pups, making their sham contract legally binding.

“You know what the contract says,” she tried, again, even as her words cracked on a hiss. _And what about the mating bite?_ Her mind asked, and her jaw worked to try and form a second sentence.

But Asami was beyond reasoning. She was shaking her head, her black mane tossing jewels of sweat and come in a musk-scented rain. She arched under Korra like a captive bird and managed to gasp out: “I know, I don’t care. Do it, fuck me, knot me, _fill_ me, Korra, _please_ ….!”

Her hand was already moving without her volition, sneaking in between their roiling bodies to find the source of Asami’s heat, pooling into her palm as the omega gave a soft moan. Korra joined right in, and her cock gave a throb as her hips jerked. “So wet,” she managed, through her gritted teeth, as her fingers slid around an absolute heaven of silk. “So warm and tight for me.”

“Only for you.” Asami agreed, canting her hips to try and encourage her to sink her cock inside. “I only want _you_ , please…”

The praise and encouragement went right to Korra’s ego and before she could process any further guilty emotions, she was moving between Asami’s spread thighs, positioning herself as her fingers split the omega’s soaked pussy open and her other hand guided her cock to rest at her fluttering entrance. She’d entered Asami before, but this was different. Beyond different. The heat was so seductive against the crown of her cock that it was hard to even focus on sinking in, but as she did, and the widest part spread open the glistening pink walls around her, she was moaning with abandon right alongside Asami.

Her hips jogged, instinctively, and the fullness of her shaft slid almost fully into the grasping, velvety channel, eliciting a gasp from her omega. “Oh Spirits,” Korra fell forward onto her elbows, and unintentionally allowed another several inches to sink in. “You feel so good…”

“So do you,” Asami panted beneath her, rolling her hips to encourage further movement. “I need all of you, please, Korra…I’m burning up.”

She truly was. A wave of sympathy washed over Korra and she nuzzled into Asami’s neck, perfumed irresistibly by her sweat, which smelled of orange blossoms and made her skin glow as if she was being lit from within. “All the way,” she promised, giving a thrust to ensure she was fully buried. She was thankful her knot had yet to form; it allowed her the glorious pleasure of pushing as deep as she possibly could, and Asami seemed to definitely appreciate it, as she clawed her back. “I’m gonna give you everything.” The alpha groaned.

“Yes!” Asami enthused, raking her nails down to dig into the base of Korra’s spine as her legs opened ever wider, like a pinned butterfly. “Yes, _yes_ , I want you so much!”

Thrusting felt amazing. Her eyes almost rolled up, but she forced her lids to stop fluttering and her hips rocketed forward. There was a primal trigger going off rapid-fire in her brain, urging her hips to pummel Asami across the tile until the dark-haired omega was shouldered roughly up against the porcelain of the tub. She didn’t seem to mind, though, if the enthusiastic wails and nails scratching a pathway of delightful pain into Korra’s flexing, well-muscled ass were any indication. Korra grunted with effort and single-mindedly gripped into the edge of the tub, using it as leverage to slam into her omega harder.

Being inside of Asami had always been intense for Korra. Her feelings had made every interaction doubly difficult, but the actual act of love was beyond words. Velvet, slick, burning heat gripped her and barely stretched to accommodate her length, making each thrust a shuddering surge. Rivulets of arousal were pulsing around her cock to puddle on the tile floor below them, which only made the slide of their bodies more torturous. The base of her cock was throbbing, and that ache began a harmonious tug inside of her brain, speaking endlessly about _mate_ , and _mine_ , and _always_. The insidious words were seductive, and before she knew it her mouth was hovering over Asami’s unclaimed pulse, teeth bared.

Only the silver of the collar separated her from Asami’s skin. The smell of blood royal intensified and Asami gave a hitching hiss of her breath, quivering under Korra. Dark green eyes blinked up at hers with sudden clarity, and there was a moment of calm within the storm of lust, a moment of sanity. They stared at each other and time almost stretched into eternity.

She lowered her mouth, lost, but the cold band brought her up short. A guilty series of reminders flashed before her eyes. Mako’s face, Hiroshi’s smug smile, Asami’s hurt face the first night after she’d told her to go and clean up, the suppressant that even now was puddled a few feet away, glass shards glinting with broken promise…They couldn’t be mates. There was still so much to discuss, and Asami’s heat had interrupted that. She couldn’t mate a woman when there was so much unspoken baggage and potential betrayal between them.

Instead of speaking, the Avatar simply dropped her eyes and her lips, capturing Asami’s in a kiss. There was regret in her, as well as longing, and the omega seemed to understand and drink it all in, sharing her scent in a calming wave. _Not yet_ , they were both saying with that kiss, _not yet, but I want to_. Korra’s cock was still aching, so she began the slow and steady grind again, making Asami break away to gasp out her name, and that unleashed the full force once more.

Soon, Asami was biting into her shoulder to muffle her screams as Korra pounded her into the porcelain. The tub was actually crumbling under her grip, but the Avatar couldn’t stop, not even if Tenzin, Hiroshi, and the entire Equalist army walked in on them at that moment. She was lost, and the pleasurable ache in her base was swelling, rising to meet the urgency of her need. Her omega was thrashing, arching, bucking against her, and Korra huffed, throwing those long pale legs over her shoulders to get deeper. Asami’s nails raked her back once again and the elegant beauty was reduced to a series of shivering wails, entreating her.

“Korra, yes! Yes, _knot me_ , do it, I’m _yours_ ….please!”

The Avatar blinked, looking down to realize the omega wasn’t just speaking metaphorically. Her knot bulged against Asami’s already-stretched pink entrance, rocking with each of her primal thrusts, and she was unable to get as deep as before. For a hazy moment she didn’t quite understand what was happening, but her hips were already instinctively trying to sheath herself once more, and she was rubbing insistently in circles, pushing to get inside.

This was it, now or never. Gritting her teeth with effort, she took ahold of Asami’s waist, and began the agonizingly slow process of burying her knot, stretching the omega’s pussy around her as she pressed forward. Asami breathed deeply, clearly trying to accommodate her, and her body pulsed with willingness, but even so, her brow furrowed in pain and she let out a soft little cry as the widest part split her open and began to sink inside. Korra’s heart swelled in empathy and she dropped tender kisses along her lover’s collarbone, achingly pale and exposed with the sweet call of her heartbeat. Every instinct still howled for her to sink her teeth into that lovely unmarked neck and stake her claim, but she resisted and sweat beaded on her chest as she focused on continuing her steady progress inside.

“Korra…” Asami whined desperately, biting her lip.

“I know, I know,” she soothed her omega. “Just let it happen, it’s almost- _ah_!”

With a slick pop, her knot sank fully into Asami’s weeping entrance and her cock nudged against the farthest wall, bottoming out against her cervix. Korra threw her head back as Asami screamed below her, and an answering cry was ripped from her throat. The walls around her knot rippled, fluttering wildly, and the omega began to convulse, shaking and shaking. Her orgasm erupted around the length buried in her depths, and Korra moaned at the wet heat, but it was prevented from leaking onto their thighs by virtue of the bulge blocking her entrance.

“Oh fuck, oh Spirits, oh _Asami_!” Korra chanted, rocking forward like an animal, grunting with the effort of holding back her orgasm, until she could not longer resist. Everything around her was clenching satin and splashes of liquid silk, and she was helpless to resist her own climax as it battered down her senses like a hurricane. She buried her face in Asami’s neck, swooning on her scent, and soothed her urge to bite down by worrying at the collar with her teeth, tasting silver instead of the flesh she so badly wanted to claim as her own.

She couldn’t thrust, but she didn’t need to; the omega’s pussy was milking her cock like a gripping fist pumping every drop towards the tip. With one last mighty surge, her cock erupted like a fountain, spurting jet after jet into Asami’s welcoming depths as if she was putting out a forest fire, and the omega moaned throatily, clutching her ever -tighter even as their bodies were irrevocably joined. The knowledge that her seed was spilling deep into the omega’s cervix and flooding her womb was an intoxicating, all-consuming thought, too heady for Korra to handle in her current state, but her inner alpha roared with triumph at the thought that Asami would be pregnant, would bear her pups. Her hand snaked between their bodies to stroke possessively over the slightest curve of her lover’s belly, growling as she felt it swell with the burgeoning flood inside the lovely omega.

 _You’re bred now_ , she thought victoriously, nuzzling further into Asami’s neck as the omega made soft cooing noises. _Mine_. Her hand traced a pattern on the tenting curve of her normally-flat stomach and felt another surge pour from her tip. The process of emptying herself had only just begun, and she sighed contentedly as her knot pulsed and throbbed. The orgasm was like nothing she’d ever felt, and it was hollowing her out to the most primal core. _All mine_ , she thought again, with another growl. _My omega, my pups._

_My mate._

She shut her eyes on that thought, despite the pleasurable thrill it gave her, and shuddered again on another spurt. _I want you to be my mate, but I don’t know what you want. Or even if you feel the same. I just know this feels right in my bones._ Her lips grazed against the collar, caressing the cold silver, and each time she neared the pulse of Asami’s glistening neck, the omega shuddered and wailed once again, clutching her again as another orgasm rolled through her body.

Together, they moaned and quivered on the tile floor as the orgasm swept back and forth between them, waves hitting opposing shores. Being tied was far more pleasurable than she could’ve ever imagined: so pleasurable, in fact, that if anyone had ever accurately described this sensation to Korra before, she may not have been so reluctant to carry out the contract’s terms. Every experimental jerk of her hips left her reeling, panting with explosive bliss, and Asami would cry out so prettily that it was like music. She captured those luscious, reddened lips again and again as their bodies emptied into each other, and felt enormous contentment cover her entire being like a warm blanket. It felt so _right_ , being tied to Asami like this, so powerful and perfect….she’d never entered the Avatar state before but something inside her told her this was similar. A feeling of infinite connection. Of eternities and instances thousands of miles long. 

Locked as they were, Asami’s heat was finally slackening its grip on her sanity, and she was breathing more evenly, her temperature returning to normal as Korra’s knot finally softened enough for her to withdraw. She took a deep breath as the alpha left her, wincing a little, and her hands shot out, pulling Korra back to cover her body, caressing her sweat-soaked back and sex-tousled head as she lay back onto the tile.

“Spirits, we actually did that.” Asami murmured softly after a long moment had passed. “You actually _knotted_ me.” She let out a wry chuckle. “Won’t my father be pleased.”

Korra stiffened at the mention of Hiroshi but the omega below her tightened her grip, not allowing her to withdraw. “Korra, I know what you think of me, but you have to know...” She indicated their joined bodies with a limp flick of her wrist. “This…this was pretty much the opposite of his plan. And I’m okay with that.” She finished, simply.

The Avatar lifted her head, hardly daring to hope. “You….you are?” She asked.

“Yes,” Asami quietly confirmed. She shifted. “I…um…wasn’t really planning to have anyone’s pups, but if I do, I’m….I’m happy that they’ll be yours.”

A blithely sweet glow suffused Korra’s whole being. She hugged Asami to her body, cradling the omega under her as if she could protect her possible pups before they were potentially even conceived. But then a sudden tendril of guilt dropped into her mind when she remembered what Asami had said about not wanting to be anyone’s broodmare, and how…well, now that was what she had become. What Korra had made her, intentionally or not.

“Asami, I-“

“Korra, don’t.” The omega was shaking her head, smiling, albeit slightly bitterly. “Like I said, I’m happy. And I threw the suppressant on the ground.” She waved a hand in the vague direction of the amber puddle. “I knew what I was doing, believe me.” She curled her hand back into Korra’s hair.

“Still,” Korra began, but even as she spoke with a desperate attempt to assuage her internal debate, her cock was hardening again, rising to thickness against Asami’s drenched folds. She couldn’t help it: the overflow of their joining was soaking her cock, and the talk of the omega being possibly pregnant was arousing beyond belief. She jogged her hips briefly, trying to concentrate. “We don’t…ah…we don’t have to do anything. Else, I mean.” She cleared her throat as Asami gave the subtlest swivel below her hips. “I can get you some beta guards and Pema has herbal tea. And, you know, um….It’s not for sure, just because I knotted you. We don’t have to keep-“

“Oh, but we do.” Asami’s eyes glittered as she felt Korra’s erection once more. She gave a lazy roll of her hips, resulting in the Avatar having to hunch over and bite her lip against a moan. “I think we _definitely_ do.”

“You’re going to keep making me embarrass myself, aren’t you?” The alpha grunted, but it was a rhetorical question. She already knew. She growled, low in her throat. Asami’s ferocious sensuality was as intense as ever, and it was bringing her back to possessive lust. “Are you really that desperate for this knot that you’d risk being bred by the Avatar?”

It was an obscene, inflammatory thing to say, even under the best circumstances, but this time, it paid off in an unexpected fashion. Asami’s lips curled up like a smug cat and she hooked a leg over the alpha’s hip, starting a slow, wet grind against the steady thickening of her cock. “Risk it?” She purred. “Aren’t I yours to breed?” She tilted her chin to display the collar. “Isn’t that what this means? I don’t know, I’m just a silly little omega.” She teased.

“Fuck.” Korra swore and that was it, she couldn’t take anymore. She slid both her hands under the omega’s perfectly rounded ass and lifted.

It was surprisingly easy. Asami already had a leg around her hip and an arm over her shoulder, and all it took was a squeak and a scramble to cling on with her remaining limbs as the Avatar staggered out of the bathroom with her prize, using single-minded focus to make her way toward the bed. Asami rapidly upped the difficulty level, however: she flexed her legs and rose in Korra’s grip, kissing her with lascivious maliciousness to try to trip her up. Korra managed to get as far as the nearest wall, but that was good enough. She slammed Asami’s back up against it and pinned her there, pulling her hips down with one hand while the other braced against the decorative wallpaper.

Entering her again took some difficult maneuvering, but Korra managed, as Asami enthused encouragement in the form of happy little gasps and quick digs of her nails into the Avatar’s bunching shoulders. At the first push of the fat head through that tight ring of muscle, they both moaned in relief. Being separate after the tie actually felt somewhat painful, and Korra was in a hurry to get back inside. The blissful heat and wetness of Asami’s perfect pussy welcomed her thrusts, and she clutched at Korra, moaning.

“Oh _yes_ ,” she cried out. “Give it to me, Korra, fuck me harder!”

“You want to take it up against the wall like a slut, don’t you?” The words ripping out of her came from some dark, dominant place inside, but the cadence only increased the speed of her pumping hips as she gave in to her omega’s demands.

“Yes, give it all to me,” Asami panted back, digging the heels of her bare feet into the small of the alpha’s back as she thrust in percussive, animalistic jerks. “ _Fuckkk_ ….Are you the alpha or not?” She challenged, and it rose the hackles on the back of the Avatar’s neck.

 _I’ll show you alpha_ , she thought, but all that came out was a harsh growl. She lifted Asami off the wall, staggering backwards for a moment until she adjusted, grunting to feel the tightness increase as the omega clamped down in surprise. She pivoted on her heel, praying to all of her past lives that she was headed toward the bed, and groaned in satisfied relief to feel her knees smack into the soft linens. She tumbled forward onto Asami, knocking her flat on the bed on her back while Korra was still inside of her.   
The young Avatar didn’t stay still for long, however, as she hauled Asami’s legs up over her shoulders again and rocketed forward, clambering onto the bed over her lover even as she began slamming her hips.

“Oh Spirits!” Asami wailed, and Korra had to agree; the new position had her hitting so deep she thought she was actually wedged under Asami’s heartbeat. She was so deep she felt herself bottom out on every stroke, and it only frenzied her further. A roar erupted from her lips like a tigerwolf and she bit into the collar, using the cold silver between her teeth as leverage as she pounded into the pliant, willing flesh below her.

This time, her knot was quick to form, as if by know her body knew its purpose, and it wasn’t long before she was once again coming up short in her lunging, sloppy thrusts. She moaned, incoherently, as she felt Asami’s wetness split around her. “Do it,” the omega enthused, grinding back at Korra to force the progress along, clearly desperate for the agonizing stretch inside. “Fuck, put it all in me, knot me, _fill me_ –“

Korra could only growl and further shake the collar between her teeth in lieu of a mating bite as her knot clicked into place, sliding into Asami’s tight channel with a sucking noise. Her omega cried out in a series of savage arias as Korra’s grip on the collar sent her into paroxysms of pleasure, and her orgasm began almost as soon as her pussy had accepted the massive intrusion. She screamed, arching like an erotic sculpture, her lovely black hair sticking to her face and spilling into her mouth. The Avatar swelled with pride and her cock gave a few last clumsy pumps before she exploded once more, splashing Asami’s walls with ropes of her thick, pearly release. A primal joy filled her and she smiled around the collar, delighting once more in the thudding, world-ending/world-creating thoughts of _mate_ , and _fill_ , and _mine_.

“Fill you all up…” She muttered in a jumbled mess of consonants around the object in her mouth. “Fill you up _good_.” Her brain wasn’t capable of forming sentences anymore, and she let the collar slip from her teeth. She closed her eyes, a hand coming up to cup Asami’s pert breast as her jets of come began to taper off and the last grasps of the omega’s orgasm faded.

“You did.” Asami assured her, sleepily. “Mmm….so good. Sleep a little now.” She yawned, and it was heart-achingly cute in the aftermath of such intensity that Korra had to smile.

“Sleep a little now,” she agreed, nestling between Asami’s small, high breasts, and feeling the security of incredible warmth, all around her. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the throes of heat, Asami’s love begins to ignite, but they haven’t gone unnoticed....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little chi-blocking and some last sexy times before we get back into the plot and the major Equalist shenanigans about to go down. Next chapter we get some more Mako and Bolin and the schemes begin to unfold. 
> 
> HUGE, huge thanks to @raedmagdon, the incomparable, whose A Slight Miscalculation series is the inspiration for this one. She helped me figure out good dynamics. If you haven’t read her work (what’s wrong with you?) stop reading mine right now and go check her out. 
> 
> Oh and no anal in this chapter, sorry! Couldn’t make it work (*cough*) with the scene I wanted to do, but never fear; Korra will get to experience everything Asami has to offer in just a bit.

Most of the White Lotus guards were battle-hardened, scarred and more than experienced enough to defend the Avatar. Many were alphas who trained night and day just to be considered worthy enough to join, and they had all been put through their paces, multiple times. They’d all seen a lot of things in their nearly twenty year career guarding Korra at the South Pole, and there were many who felt the detail in Republic City, security concerns aside, would be a breeze and a cakewalk compared to the rigors of their training.

Their training, however, had failed grandly in one aspect: not being heavily embarrassed on guard duty by the exuberant, excessive noises of the Avatar and her omega in the throes of a heat frenzy.

“Oh Spirits, _yessss_ ….Asami, your mouth feels so fucking- _ahhh_!”

An enthusiastic slurping noise followed the exclamation, and for the fifth time that day, the old earth bender alpha on duty at the door forced back a chuckle as his younger partner reddened and shifted in obvious discomfort in position on the opposite side. The light wood paneling favored by the architects in the city did not conceal noise very well, and the shoji screens were practically torn from their frames by the rattling and furious shaking. The earth bender had once been young himself, so he understood the Avatar’s passions, but he was past his prime now, and mated, so it didn’t affect him as strongly. The water bender alpha, however, was a newer recruit, and despite his attempt a serious expression, his erection was stridently tenting his pants and his cheeks were flushed. He was a credit to his training, however, and held firm, despite the tempting noises, and scents that issued forth, calling out that there was an omega in heat, an omega fertile beyond any imagining, redolent with desire.

On top of that rich blend, however, there was also wave after wave of strong, possessive alpha pheromones emitting from under the doors, warning them both to stay far away from Korra’s prize, and it was almost impossible not to cringe under the nasal strike, but they did not. Although sweat beaded on each of their upper lips from resisting the primal alpha’s command, they stood stock-still, relying on years of strenuous training to keep their instincts at bay, and anxiously waited to be relieved from their posts.

Finally, their replacements arrived. “Took you long enough!” Complained the younger alpha, brushing his hands over his pants irritably, as if that would soothe his uncomfortable hard-on.

“We had to get food for them,” the dark-haired firebender guard indicated the platter in the arms of her water bending partner, both of them alphas as well. “Has it been going this whole time? We were on duty this morning and everyone bet Korra would be exhausted by the afternoon.”

The old earth bender shook his head with a sage smile. “Oh no, not with a blood royal in there. She’s going to be as hard as a rock for days.” At that, all four exchanged knowing looks and shared a wincing chuckle. “Couldn’t coax me into that,” the earth bender continued, grinning, and jerked his thumb over at his younger partner. “But Inoraq over there has been sweating it pretty bad.”

“Have not.” Inoraq answered quickly, but his erection belied the truth. He rolled his eyes at the renewed burst of laughter. “All right, it’s been hell. How do you do this?”

His fellow waterbender guard clapped him on the shoulder, her ceremonial braids clanking with animal tusks. “Cold showers work best. It’s too bad there’s no glaciers here, but bend up some ice, that helps me.”

“When you’re off duty, go out in the city and chat up some good-looking beta or omega. I go to this little noodle joint called Narook’s, it’s a pretty good spot.” The firebender suggested, opening the door a crack. A wave of scent almost bowled them over and she pushed the platter inside hurriedly, slamming the door again as all four guards gagged on the confusing mixture of enticing and repelling pheromones. “Sheesh, she’s really pumping it out.”

“Yeah that’s not the only thing she’s pumping.” Inoraq muttered savagely, and the laughter echoed throughout the hallway.

____________________________

Inside the doors, Korra was not actually giving truth to that statement, at least, not at that exact moment. She and Asami were laying half across a pile of comforters and sheets that had once belonged to the rather sumptuous bed, and were now taking occupancy on the floor, bundled in sweat-soaked piles, in accordance with the various urges of Asami’s nesting instincts. The omega’s dark hair was strewn across her face, and she was breathing hard, but she had personally never felt as joyful as she did right at that instant. Korra’s taste was filling her mouth, her pussy had a pleasant ache, and she was feeling deliciously stated for the time being, although the curls of heat in her belly had not yet subsided. It came in fits and starts, absorbing her slowly over time, but there were brief periods of clarity, of satiation, in which she could actually think about what was happening.

She rolled over, pulling a portion of sheet with her, to look at her alpha, who was laying on her back with her hands behind her head, eyes closed and a particularly satisfied smile on her face. She was pretty sure Korra didn’t have any remaining brain cells after that last blow job, but she decided to check in anyway.

“You look happy.” She commented, tucking herself alongside the comforting length of the alpha’s body.

Korra rumbled in agreement, drawing Asami into a bear hug against her chest. The affectionate gesture made everything in the omega swell. She knew that skin on skin contact with the alpha was only prolonging her heat, as well as creating a strong scent bond between them, and in turn, making her delirious, but she couldn’t help it. Korra’s smooth caramel skin just felt so good; warm and bunching with muscles underneath like a blanket pulled over a kitten. And she smelled _amazing_ ; like sex and wind and honeyed red poppies, a whole field of them. Asami felt protected and cherished in her alpha’s arms, and she wasn’t ready to relinquish that feeling, even if there was a nagging voice in the back of her head wondering what things would be like once her heat was over.

Korra seemed to sense her thoughts. “This is wonderful,” she confessed, stroking Asami’s exposed back and hair, looking at her pale lover as if she’d swallowed the moon. “I don’t want your heat to ever end.”

“I don’t want it to, either.” Asami admitted, feeling vulnerable in her sheet cocoon. “I haven’t been this happy since….well, maybe since before my mom died.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she didn’t know why she’d said them. It was foolish to bring outside thoughts into this paradise of their bodies, but Korra didn’t seem to mind, actually. On the contrary, she rolled to prop herself up on one elbow, looking down into Asami’s eyes while she continued her stroking, intensifying their contact without being asked so that the pleasant thrum of their bond continued its comforting pulse.

“How long ago did she die?” Korra asked quietly.

The blood royal took a deep breath. “Twelve years.” _Don’t cry_ , she ordered herself, _you’re just emotional because of your heat, don’t cry._ But she had to bite her lip anyway to stave off the welling tears.

“Oh, Asami.” Korra’s palm laid to rest firmly against her back, keeping her close. “That’s…a long time to not feel happy.” She resumed her comforting touch, and her blue eyes kept hold of Asami’s green pools, refusing to let her look away. “How did she die? I mean, if you don’t mind my asking? We don’t have to-“

“No, it’s okay.” The heiress cut her off. She closed her eyes, unable to take any more of the sympathy in Korra’s. “She was always passionate about supporting the unified nations, and keeping Avatar Aang’s vision alive. She used to go to meetings and civil service all the time.”

She smiled, bitterly, remembering a bright spray of buttons across a card table, and happy voices gathered over steaming tea. Those had been good days. She shook her head and continued, scattering a few tears like jewels.

“But there was a group called the Red Lotus that was protesting how you were being raised, locked away from your responsibilities to society, and how the White Lotus had become corrupt by taking everyone’s omegas so that the Avatar could breed.”

At that, Korra had the decency to cringe, and she tensed beside her, but Asami plowed on, feeling robotically unable to stop. “Mom didn’t agree, of course, few people did, but the protests kept happening and she kept going with the Avatar loyalists. One day, the protest turned violent and the police were called to assist in preventing a riot. She was killed when a firebender used her mind to detonate a blast in the middle of the crowd. I was eight.”

“Asami…I’m sorry.” Korra didn’t know what else to say, that was clear, and the omega couldn’t really blame her. There was a reason she seldom told this story to anyone. She didn’t like remembering it herself. There was also a guilty shudder at the pain in Korra’s voice; the sudden, and novel realization of the burdens of being the Avatar. Of having things happen in your name, without your knowledge, before you were ready to shoulder that weight. She lifted her lids again, and caught Korra’s deep blue gaze.

“Spirits….your father.” The Avatar was catching on. “No wonder he was willing to work with the Equalists.”

 _Not just willing…eager_ , she thought, but only grimaced and nodded. “He…he got angrier, after she died. He was always blustery, and his temper was bad, but Mom could at least get him to laugh. Once she was gone…” She shrugged, aware that the sheet dropped below her chest when she did so, once again exposing her nipples to the cool afternoon air drifting in from the windows. “I don’t think he’s been happy since she died, either.” That was the truth, it occurred to her, belatedly, and a split second of sadness for the man her father had used to be pervaded her mind before she chased it away.

“I…that seems logical to me.” Korra’s hand roamed helplessly on her back before she finally brought it up to cup Asami’s face, and the inexpert gesture was enough to almost break her into tears all over again at the rough sweetness of it. “Spirits, if something took my mate away from me, I’d….I don’t know what I’d do, and I don’t even have a mate....” The Avatar’s proud, beautiful face softened with a shy smile, and she almost whispered. “Yet.”

 _Yet_. The word hung in the air for a moment before each of them blushed and dropped their eyes. Asami felt her pulse throb, simmering with longing for the sinking of Korra’s fine, sharp teeth, the claiming of her heart as well as her body and her mind. Because her heart was, of course, irrevocably claimed, from perhaps as early as that kiss in the carriage ride after Kuang’s. Asami was in love and stupidly lost in it, to boot. The foolish knowledge of that caught at her throat and gripped her belly with kneading hands, but it was too late, far too late.

The simple fact was...Korra made her feel safe.

Even when she was fucking her roughly from behind, or thrusting her hips into Asami’s throat, the absurd fact was that she was safe with the Avatar, protected. She would never be forced or demeaned in a way that she didn’t enjoy, and her body, while a vessel for the alpha’s pleasure, was also her own. In a strange way, the collar that marked her as property also _freed_ her, for the first time, from her father’s influence and her oppressive family name. And she wanted to bear Korra’s mark; wanted to bear more than that, if she was being honest, but the impossibility of it made her bittersweet.

She could never abandon her obligations to her father, just as Korra could never abandon her obligations to the Avatar, and they were stuck in between at this moment only by the force of her heat; she bore no illusions to the contrary. Korra was sweet, and Korra was caring, and Asami couldn’t lie to her, not even a little, which meant she couldn’t be a party to her father’s plan, but that also didn’t mean they could be together; there was too much in the way. Her father had assured her: Amon was a sure bet. The city would fall, and Korra would be captured and have her bending removed, to be a symbol of Amon’s power, or, if she could escape, she’d be whisked by the guards back to the South Pole, never allowed to return, and either way, the city would be in Equalist control. There was no hope for a relationship in the kind of chaos her father and Amon had planned. No hope for love, either.

The only thing she could hope for, and the only thing she _could_ do, in fact, was to sabotage her father’s plan as best she could from within, and allow Korra time to escape to the White Lotus stronghold when the time came. There would be punishment if her father found out, of course, and it would be unbearable, but far less bearable still was the thought of Korra paraded around at Amon’s behest, no longer able to bend, a broken symbol. She had fallen too hard to allow that idea to cause her anything but utter pain.

And if she was pregnant, and she bore a pup (or pups) from this encounter…well, then she’d always have a piece of Korra with her. She would just need to keep the pregnancy safe from her father until she was far enough along that ‘drastic measures’ wouldn’t be an option without damaging her future breeding potential, and she knew he would never want that. She _wanted_ to be pregnant, in fact, and although the logical part of her brain insisted that was just her heat talking, she couldn’t shake her fervent desire. _Let me be bred_ , she prayed, wildly, thinking of Korra’s strong chin and sparkling blue eyes combined in a bright little pup with her pale complexion and dark hair… _If I can’t have your mark, let me have your pups, so I can at least love them in lieu of you._

She rolled on top of Korra then, smiling to belie her sober thoughts. “I don’t want to talk about my dad anymore, or my mom.” She offered, letting the sheet drop fully between their bodies so she was nude again, shivering deliciously as the heat of her flushed skin hit the air. “I want to talk about how much you want me.”

“So fucking much.” Korra swore, raising her hands to cup Asami’s breasts and tug lightly on her stiff, pebbled nipples. “I want you _so_ much, Asami.”

 _Do you love me, though?_ She asked, silently, and ignored it by pressing her hips down with intent. She couldn’t have love, but perhaps she could have bliss, at least for a few days more. Korra’s cock was still only half-hard, and she wanted to change that.

The Avatar could definitely be forgiven, however; they’d already gone more rounds than she could count, and she’d been knotted thoroughly many times. But Korra seemed as insatiable for her as she was for Korra, so she saw no point in denying herself, not when the fog of her heat began to curl back around her brain and her body cried out for the strength of her alpha inside. Her ass rubbed back against the stiffness, and her wetness slid along the Avatar’s rough-hewn abs, like climbing a rock face of unspeakable beauty.

“You’re gorgeous.” She told the alpha, simply, and leaned down to kiss her. Korra surged up into it, eager to taste her once more, but she controlled the pace from her position on top, and the sensation gave her an odd thrill, as did the hardness pressing into her ass. She rocked back against it, and allowed the hot length to slide between her rounded cheeks, experimentally sliding until she hit a good angle. Korra whined into her mouth, humping up and trying to grab her hips to position her, and the rush of power was enough to make her fight back.

“No,” she gasped into Korra’s wet lips, licking and nipping as she spoke. “No. _My_ turn. _My_ rules.”

“Your rules.” Korra huffed, bratty, trying to catch her in another kiss. “It’s like you’ve forgotten whose collar is on whose neck.”

Asami ignored that, rather generously, she felt, and tried pinning Korra’s arms back down to the bed. That quickly didn’t work, however, as the Avatar smirked and easily wrenched free of her grip, sliding her hands right back where they were.

“Trying something, sweet?” Korra teased, and the smugness sent fire through her spine.

“You’re an arrogant pup.” She countered, and tried using her legs to keep Korra still, but to no avail. The Avatar was shifting under her, grinning confidently and threatening to flip her over unless she did something more rash. “It’s time someone put you in your place.”

“What place is that?” Korra raised her fingers to casually twist her nipple, making Asami’s hips buck involuntarily against her even as the alpha’s strong other hand pushed insistently down on her waist, trying to move her into range of her straining cock. “Between your thighs? I’m almost there, and you _know_ you want it. Just lay back and let your _alpha_ take care of you….”

Asami grit her teeth. She had had _quite_ enough backtalk, thank you. Decisively, she used the flat of her hand to quickly jab at the inside of Korra’s wrist, hitting the pressure-sensitive points there, and flexing her fingers up into the inside of her elbow. The Avatar cried out in shock and alarm, and tried lifting her arm but her shoulder only shrugged uselessly; her limb did not move. Instinctively, the alpha raised her hand to grab for Asami’s wrist, but she deflected it neatly and, with Korra’s arm raised, was able to access her vulnerable underarm with ease, sending her other hand plopping limply back to the bed.

“Asami!” Korra yelped, eyes bulging, but her cock was as hard as ever, nudging the omega’s ass. “You-you-you-“

“This’ll be the second time I’ve chi-blocked you, Avatar.” Asami leaned down and caressed Korra’s face, semi-sadistically enjoying the beads of sweat her sudden action had elicited in her trapped prey. Her hair fell as the backdrop to their faces as she teased her body over Korra’s, stretching so that the Avatar’s cock bobbed against her. The silken steel of it made her skin sing with lust, and she felt her pussy petal open in anticipation, but she willed herself to not give in and sink down. “You’ve really got to get better at defending against this.”

“Not fair,” Korra complained, half-moaning, eyes fixated on Asami’s bouncing breasts as she moved her hips in a teasing swivel. She tried forcibly moving her arms, but her shoulders just gave another hard shrug and they flopped like fish on the bed. “You’re using unfair tactics.”

The alpha’s legs, however, were still un-blocked, and she realized this in a surge, trying to fling a leg around Asami to flip her over. The omega had anticipated this, however, and gave a soft chuckle, leaning back to effortlessly poke into inner thigh pressure points on either side, sending each leg thudding back to the bed in a helpless, spread-open position. Korra gave a frustrated cry and slammed her torso upwards, trying to buck Asami off, but the omega merely rode her easily, laughing as her hair flew about her face.

“Oh I think a little turnabout is fair play, don’t you?” Asami grinned down at her, positioning the alpha’s limp, useless arms above her head with a careless flick of her wrist. “After all,” she continued, giving a sly look to Korra’s erection behind her, “you got to use my body for your pleasure many times…”

At that, however, Korra’s face fell and a guilty furrow appeared in her brow. “You’re right, I did.” She looked helpless and her blue eyes blurred with the slightest hint of tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

That wouldn’t do. Asami leaned down and peppered her face with kisses, deliberately allowing their breasts to brush against each other until she heard Korra’s answering gasp, and the brown peaks of her nipples hardened to points. “I think you’re missing the point here,” she explained, patiently. “Did it ever occur to you that I could chi-block this entire time?”

Korra’s face lifted as the words sank in. “Oh. So you could’ve-“

“ _Destroyed_ you.” Asami supplied smugly, rocking her pussy against the alpha’s tensing abs to emphasize her point. “If I wanted to.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” the alpha snapped back, the challenge rising in her eyes once more, and Asami shuddered involuntarily until she regained her composure. But Korra’s eyes softened again, and she rolled her chin up to catch Asami’s gaze. “But you’re saying you were okay with it? Liked how…um…rough I was?”

In lieu of an immediate answer, Asami let her fingers play over the edge of her collar, which she still hadn’t let Korra remove, and her eyes swept closed in a clear gesture of desire. Her fingertips brushed the symbol of the White Lotus at the clasp in the front and she let her lips fall open, a small moan escaping. If she wasn’t in the grip of her heat, she’d‘ve been embarrassed beyond belief at such wanton display, but she couldn’t care about proper behavior at the moment anyway. She wanted Korra to see what submission did to her.

“I liked it,” she said at last, opening her eyes to see Korra staring at her so hungrily, so naked with want, that she had to lick her lips. “I _liked_ it.” She repeated, and leaned forward, placing a hand on Korra’s chest, feeling her strong, steady heartbeat thud under her splayed fingers. “I want to show you how that feels. Not having control.”

Korra was fixated between the collar’s silver glint and the peaks of Asami’s nipples, just above her face. She whined, clearly frustrated. “But I _like_ having control!”

The omega let out a rich laugh, enjoying herself. When Korra was denied something, she really did reveal how spoiled she’d been her entire life. She ground her hips down slowly, lifting so that her pussy brushed over Korra’s wet, slippery tip, red and flared with aching need. “I know you do,” she purred, letting her hair roll back over her shoulders.

“But now it’s my turn.” She looked down at Korra, and a devilish smile playing on her red lips. “And I intend to make you suffer.”

Korra grunted and thrust her hips up, almost catching against her omega’s entrance before Asami laughingly canted her pelvis out of reach. “I’m the Avatar.” She pointed out, putting out her lip. “I _get_ what I want.”

Asami leaned back on her knees, using her spare hand to splay down her body, stroking over her breasts. “Oh? Seems like that would get boring after a while.”

“You’d think that, but it just keeps getting more interesting…” Korra growled, eyes devouring Asami’s flame-hot skin. She tried to raise her arms again but they only gave a mild quake next to her body. “Shit. Why did I have to have a crush on an Equalist?”

The words gave Asami’s whole world an effervescent glow, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face slowly, like a sunset. She leaned down and gave Korra the softest kiss imaginable, a kiss that said everything and nothing at all, and her heart ached inside her chest like it had been rubbed raw. “Because I ran my moped into your polar bear dog. On purpose.” She winked at Korra to tease a little of the emotions away.

As that little tidbit of information sunk into the surprised Avatar’s face, she rolled her hips in a seductive figure eight, keeping her upper body just above the alpha’s skin, and allowed her weeping sex to graze Korra’s bobbing length, which jerked as if filled with a live wire. The head was already as wet as she herself was, and she knew she couldn’t tease long before Korra would knot and make her intended action impossible. Gripping the shaft in one hand, she kept her other pressed to Korra’s chest as she guided the head inside of her folds, hissing as it brushed her clit.

“Wanted you…even then…” She confessed, and sank down, letting the broad crown part her sensitive muscles as she threw her head back on a groan. Korra answered her back with a desperate moan below her, body jerking involuntarily in small fits as she tried to use her limbs.

“Asami, you…. _fuck_.” The Avatar’s eyes rolled back and she stilled as her cock was enveloped in slick tight heat. “You beautiful thing... I wanted you, too.”

Asami let herself adjust. Korra always took a second or two of breathing and relaxing before her body would accept the intrusion, and although the angle was doing her several favors, it was still a moment before she could continue her slow journey downwards. Inch by inch, the Avatar watched in awe as she disappeared into the omega’s body, spread wide and glistening pink around her shaft. Finally, their pelvises joined, and Asami let out a low moan, rolling her head back on her shoulders.

“Oh Korra,” she gasped. “You feel so good in me… _mmm_ ….stretching me so much.”

The Avatar answered her with an appreciative moan, and she began to rise and lift, gasping every time Korra’s generous girth brushed against her sensitive front wall. She kept her hand firmly on Korra’s tanned chest and the strength of her increasing heartbeat was comforting, even arousing, to feel how she was affecting her lover, as well as giving her leverage to start a slow rhythm. The glide of her hips was aided by the wetness pouring out of Korra and her own rivers of desire, but still, the stretch was considerable and she took some time before she was able to speed up.

Eventually, however, she was riding Korra as hard as she wanted, moaning every time her feverish bouncing brushed their bodies together enough to catch her clit. “Bet you want to… _hfff_ …fuck me hard…” She taunted, seeing Korra bite her lip as her hips sank fully down once more.

Sweat beaded on the Avatar’s brow. “You’re going to pay for this.” She threatened with a growl, but didn’t deny it, which only emboldened Asami further.

She lifted herself almost fully off of Korra’s straining cock, moaning at the emptiness, but keeping herself just out of reach as the Avatar tried flouncing her torso to thrust back inside. “Oh yeah?” She asked calmly, and slid her fingers down her body, circling her clit and then slipping past to thrust inside. She moaned and jerked forward onto Korra as her fingers curled. Raising her dark, raven-colored head, she met Korra’s flustered gaze with her half-lidded green eyes. “I could just fuck myself instead, if you’re not happy with what’s happening…?”

“No!” Korra’s voice crackled and she had to clear her throat. She once again tried to move her arms, and this time they gave the slightest wiggle, but the effect of the chi-blocking was still too strong. Asami took note, however; her little game had begun to time out.

“Beg me.” She suggested, letting Korra’s tip graze against her clit and her lips nipped against Korra’s throat. Korra stilled beside her teeth and she knew what the alpha was thinking; this was what she’d done to Asami, on their first night together. For a moment she worried she’d gone too far and the Avatar would actually cry; her brow wrinkled and she looked so distraught that Asami almost called it off right there.

But finally, blue eyes raised to hers and there was soft surrender there, so much that it broke her heart. “ _Please_.” Korra asked, quietly. “Please, Asami. I need you so much…”

She could have held out for more, but she was selfish, too. She sank back down, not taking the time to adjust before she began a swift rise and fall, hissing at the pleasurable ache. Korra’s head rolled back on the pillows and her hips thrust up with the limited range of motion she was allowed in her paralysis, but it was enough: Asami cried out as the stretch inside her increased. “Fuck, Korra,” she swore, and sped up the pace of her hips’ steady rolling, making them both moan.

It wasn’t long before her hips came up short, as Korra’s knot prevented her from dropping all the way to the base. Fire was filling her veins and spilling out of her body in liquid pyrocastic flows, and she wanted nothing more than to take it inside, to feel herself full once more. Moaning incoherently, she rubbed herself against the swelling bulge, and she and Korra both watched in awe as her body split open to accommodate it.

“Asami, oh Spirits…!” Korra was groaning her name like a prayer, as she sank down hard on her next pass, allowing the knot to start to stretch inside of her. She threw back her head on a scream as it popped inside, the bright splash of pain only heightening her pastel waves of utter pleasure as she immediately began climaxing in response, her pussy racing to explode around the thickness invading her deepest places.

“Korra… _fuck, oh Korra_!” She howled, nails digging into the Avatar’s chest. Somewhere, dimly, she realized the alpha had regained the use of her arms and her hands were aiding Asami’s hips in her chaotic rocking against their tied bodies, possessively digging into the cheeks of her ass as the alpha growled and emptied inside of her, filling her womb with potent seed. She didn’t mind, however, as the grip only aided and abetted her orgasm, making her shake and cry out and fall forward onto Korra’s chest as the alpha came and came and came inside her, spilling deeply. _I love you_ , she mouthed into the Avatar’s sweat-streaked flesh, and blushed as she almost murmured the words aloud.

Trembling hands came to stroke her sides and back. Korra may have recovered somewhat from the chi-blocking, but she was still weak, and would be for a few minutes more, which was fine, because, thanks to the tie, neither would be up to moving for a while. Instead of speaking her secret desires, she placed kisses onto Korra’s chest, and sighed with contentment as the Avatar’s cock continued to release inside of her, making her walls flutter in response. It was some time before she could speak, so she stayed silent, tracing a soft path around Korra’s nipple with her fingers.

“Asami.” The Avatar broke the silence after what felt like a blissful, warm eternity. She lifted her head to catch Korra’s gaze and the alpha grinned to see her, stroking her hair with shaky fingers. “That was amazing. Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you,” the omega joked, but Korra put a finger to her lips and she melted.

“No, thank you.” Korra was shaking her head. “I needed that.” She smiled again and it was so open and full of what could’ve been love that Asami’s heart soared. “Hey I know I asked you earlier but, when your heat is done, is there any chance you’d want to go to the city again?” Without waiting for a response, she continued, seemingly too nervous to stop. “I mean, with me. Like, on a date. But not if you don’t want to. We can. Um. Just stay here, too.”

“Korra.” Asami was laughing, but not unkindly, and Korra broke into a shy smile that only gave her more sweet chills. “I’d like that. The island is lovely, but there’s a lot in the city that you still haven’t seen.” She played with Korra’s chest, nails skating over her ribs. “And I’d love to be your date.” She admitted through her lashes.

“Good.” Korra grinned again, and the confident attitude was returning to her posture, even laying on her back. “Because I want to show you off.”

Asami had a sudden, rabidly fearful thought at the idea of what her father would think of the Avatar ‘showing off’ his daughter, but she shook it away, determined. She didn’t want to care about what her father thought anymore. Seeing how happy Korra was…she wanted this for as long as she could have it, which would probably be painfully short, so she would get all she could.

“I’d like that a lot.” She confessed, and leaned back to kiss her again. The Avatar growled appreciatively, and flexed her muscles; her legs were returning to their strength as well.

Suddenly, Asami let out a squeak as she felt herself being flipped over once more as the alpha rolled their bodies. She was pinned by a particularly smug-looking Korra, beaming down at her as she blew a hair out of her face, feigning annoyance even as her body thrilled to the dominant touch. 

“Now,” Korra drawled, looking down Asami’s body like it was delectable snack. “I believe it’s my turn to hold you still….”

 

_________________________

”Are you sure?”

Hiroshi paced back and forth in his office, looking wild as an angry moose lion. The Lieutenant almost feared for the young waterbender White Lotus guard who stood before him, gulping in the tension as the Sato alpha poured waves of fury into the room, thickening the air with its stench. “Are you _sure_?!” He yelled, again, and slammed his hands down on the desk, sending papers scattering to the floor and making his informant jump. 

“Y-yes, Mr. Sato. Sir. Um.” The White Lotus spy sweated in his boots, looking deeply frightened. “The blood royal went into heat two days ago. She’s been in the Avatar’s chambers ever since.”

”Damn, damn, _damn_.” Hiroshi clenched his fists and knocked an expensive vase to the floor, dispassionately watching as a spray of flowers and water dampened his fine carpet amid broken pottery shards.

”That disobedient slut. I told her what she needed to do, and she goes and does the opposite. She’ll bring the honor of my house down with her if I can’t fix this mess.” He cast a fierce look at the Lieutenant. “You’ll need to tell Amon to increase his operations. We’ll have to begin the second phase without my _daughter_.” He spat the last word acidly. 

Turning to his spy within the White Lotus, Hiroshi fished in his pocket until he found a small folded envelope, thick with cash. He slid it across the desk to the young alpha, who pocketed it swiftly, nerves showing in the shaking of his hand. “You may go.” The Sato elder dismissed him curtly. “But you’ve done well. Continue to keep me informed of my daughter’s actions with the Avatar and you shall be handsomely rewarded.” He nodded to the Lieutenant. “Perhaps you would be kind enough to show our guest to the antechamber? I believe the requested omegas have already arrived, and each is lovelier than the last.” Hiroshi inclined his head knowingly. 

This brought a tentative smile to the waterbender, and he clutched the envelope as he bowed low. “Thank you, Mr. Sato, sir.” Inoraq replied. “I will.” 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami and Korra run into Bolin and Mako on their date in the city, and more revelations are in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Back again with another plot chapter; this time we’re learning about Asami and Mako’s past, which will lead Korra to make some assumptions, but don’t worry. There’s no Makorra in this story! 
> 
> We’re almost to the next Equalist move, and that will take up a large part of the next chapter, before we can get back to some fluffy sweetness. Buckle up for the ride; I’m not slowing down. ;)

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.”

Asami regarded the slightly-stained saddle that Korra was offering her with distaste, her brow arched as high as it could go. Beside her, Naga panted happily, worrying a strip of seal jerky that Asami had wheedled from Opal, and the bribe seemed to have easily helped the giant bear dog to forget about meeting the heiress in her chi-blocking uniform once before. Naga didn’t seem to be holding a grudge, which was surprising and a nice plus. The treat was small, too, so Korra had to assume Naga simply liked Asami, which was understandable. Nothing, however, seemed to be a suitable bribe to convince the green-eyed omega to ride with her into the city.

“Do you have a better idea for how we’re going to go watch a pro-bending match?” Korra threw up her hands, exasperated. The omega’s elegant ways were devilishly enjoyable in bed, but the trade-off was that she was definitely a bit more used to the finer things than Korra, and her tastes ran to expensive.

“Yes.” Asami folded her arms defiantly. “Didn’t Tarrlok just drop off a Satomobile for you?”

“How do you know about that?” Korra complained, faux-irritated, but she wasn’t surprised or upset. It was only logical. The airbender kids had seen the gift, and that meant the information undoubtably trickled down to Asami.

(Tarrlok had really been stepping up the gifts lately, since Korra’s participation in his task force had significantly dropped off, thanks to the contract and the associated all-consuming thoughts that currently occupied the Avatar’s time. But the waterbender council member hadn’t given up; since wrenching control of anti-Equalist operations from Tenzin’s more moderate hands, he had instituted a series of somewhat inflammatory laws, such as a non-bender curfew, and had been needling Korra in the press for her lack of action against Amon. But Tarrlok’s gifts and his persistence were the last things on Korra’s mind, lately, and she couldn’t help herself in her lack of caring about whatever machinations the fellow Southerner may be up to.)

In the days since her heat had subsided, Asami’s freedom to roam the temple grounds had been expanded (by a shamefaced Avatar quickly exchanging words with the White Lotus captains) and she was often seen playing with the airbender kids. Asami’s natural finesse came in handy with their frequent sibling squabbles, and that talent had earned her the respect of Pema like nothing else. The young omega would often follow the airbender’s mate around, assisting in daily chores and merrily keeping Meelo at bay, while Opal and Korra lingered on the edges, poking fingers into pots and getting smacked with spoons.

“Ikki.” Asami explained, simply, and that was enough. The middle airbender child was an incorrigible gossip with a loving fixation on the gorgeous omega; always hounding after her for beauty tips and insisting on having her hair braided. It was easy for her to become a ferry of information from one end of the island to another.

“That little-“ Korra rolled her eyes. “Well, it doesn’t matter.” She pointed out. “The only thing I know how to drive is a polar bear dog.”

“Korra.” Asami addressed her firmly, cocking her head to one side. “What’s my last name?”

The Avatar had the grace to blush. “Um. Shit.”

“Yeah. I drove you back to the ferry on our second date, silly.” Asami’s smile was playful, however, even as she needled at Korra’s forgetfulness. “I’ve got a private track at the mansion, you know. I could take you for a spin some time.”

She came closer and pulled Korra to her by the lapels, laying a kiss on her flustered cheek.

“I don’t think your father would be a fan of that,” the Avatar joked, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck tingle as usual to the warmth of Asami’s simple touch. Even just a chaste kiss like that had her reeling, as always.

“My father doesn’t need to know everything that I do.” Asami’s mouth had an upset twist, and Korra painfully regretted bringing up Hiroshi, but she only had time to feel bad for an instant before the omega’s face shifted back into a sly smile, covering whatever other emotions she must’ve been feeling as smoothly as a rain cloud covering the sun. “Besides, we have a perfectly functional Satomobile right here.”

“We also have a perfectly functional polar bear dog.” Korra tried to point out, but it was in vain, and she knew it. She took Asami’s proffered hand and allowed herself to be led from the stables, giving Naga a forlorn wave as they exited. “Sorry girl, I’ll take you for an extra long run tonight,” she promised her friend, as the white beast looked quizzically after them.

Being with Asami this way had come surprisingly naturally, if she was being honest with herself. The banter, the sweetness, the kisses and smoldering looks. It felt like home, like being simple and clean, fresh from a shower. There was also moments of stilted awkwardness, like when either of them inadvertently brought up the contract or the threat of war, but overall the air on the island these past few days had been playful, exuberant, even, and the nights had been….magic. Her skin still tingled at the thought of Asami’s sweet gasps, her lips grazing her ear, the feel of her hands clutching at Korra’s body….yes, the nights were _magic_ , and every time she thought about them she couldn’t wipe the dopey smile off of her face.

Everyone on the island seemed to sense the mood had changed between the alpha and the blood royal. Pema nodded approvingly at Korra with her eyebrow raised to indicate Asami as she carried a stack of dishes into the kitchen, and nudged her husband until he did the same, but he was already showing his happiness at the match. Tenzin was giving Korra irrepressible smiles every chance he got, and when he and Korra had their daily meditation and airbending practice, he always devoted extra time to a few obscure airbender passages on love and mating. When Opal showed up for her airbending lessons, she would disappear with Asami for at least an hour of gossip afterwards, the two omegas giggling and shooting coy glances every time Korra appeared.

It was almost becoming…normal.

She’d agonized over choices when it come to potential date locations, sweating over it far more profusely than she’d ever worried about what Mako would think or say about a date, but in the end her relative inexperience with the city limited her to essentially the arena or Narook’s, and she intended to hit both of them tonight. Asami was dressed about as casually as she got, in a neat little Future Industries half-jacket, pleated skirt and stockings with calf-length boots, and her makeup was impeccable, as always. She’d left the collar on the bedside table this time, but she was still making Korra’s mouth water for more than just food. She figured watching the WolfBats go a few rounds against whichever opponent they’d rustled up would be fun, and then, after some kelp noodles and canoodling….she would try to see how far those stockings went up Asami’s skirt. The Avatar grinned to herself as she imagined the look on the omega’s face when her fingers crept up her creamy thighs, and had to shake the delicious thoughts away as they approached the garage.

She must not have been entirely successful. Asami slid behind the wheel of the flashy vehicle, noting its red seats and inner detail with approval, and turned to toss Korra a curious look. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Just thinking about you,” Korra answered honestly, and hopped over the door to join her in the passenger seat. The omega favored her with a dazzling smile in response and she revved the engine, her gloved hand on the clutch making Korra think about her hand in other places. She gulped and crossed her legs, unable to stop thinking about the omega’s wrist in a slow up-and-down glide on her cock. _Stop that,_ she told herself, without much effect. _This is a date, not a public sex outing._

 _But it could be both_...her devilish mind insisted, even as she grit her teeth against the tantalizing thought.

As the omega guided the car onto the ferry ramp, she decided to focus on other things. The date would be a pitiful one if she couldn’t even make it across the bay before ravishing her gorgeous companion. “You know, I’m surprised you’d want to drive. I figured, most omegas tend to like to be passengers, so…”

Asami let out a dry laugh. “You think just because I’m an omega I’m going to sit back and be driven around? No, I’m not just ‘daddy’s little girl’.” She raised a sly brow at Korra over her shoulder. “I’ve always found ways to occupy myself. I invent things, I race prototype Satomobiles, I practice my chi-blocking training. Being an omega has never stopped me from anything.”

Korra immediately flustered. “Uh no, I didn’t mean-“ She cleared her throat. “I’ve just…never met anyone else who was as intense as me, that’s all.” She raised her eyes back to Asami, who was watching her with amused interest. “I like it.”

“I like _you_.” Asami said, and her eyes were twinkling but her voice was soft.

That sent a deep, happy blush through her whole system and she wanted to kiss Asami right there, even as the ramp doors lifted and they arrived on the city’s shore, but the heiress merely grinned as if she guessed her intent and gunned the engine, sending them skidding onto the street. Asami spun the wheel, slammed the gearshift into a new position, and with a screech of tires, they were off. Korra let out an impressed whoop and grabbed a hold of the window bar for support.

“You also like to drive fast, apparently!” She commented, but Asami only shot her that devastating grin in response and pushed the pedal to the floor. They flashed past surprised pedestrians, and slid around traffic like an eel-hound, sleek and effortless. She could see Asami had a high, lovely flush to her cheekbones, but the older girl didn’t seem nervous; instead she looked downright excited. Her green eyes lit up like lanterns every time a new obstacle presented itself, and she snorted in delight like an ostrich-horse when she managed to overcome it.

She was _beautiful_.

  
Aside from her physical perfection, which was absolute, she was lovelier in ways Korra couldn’t even imagine. Seeing her like this, happy and practically bouncing in her seat as she swerved neatly around a slow driver, who honked and gave a rude gesture…it was enough to make Korra’s heart ache to sink her teeth into her neck and claim her right there, right in the middle of Sokka Avenue.

Of course, before she could give in to the swirling, soaring desire to do so, they were screeching to a halt into a a parking space at the pro-bending arena, looming golden and glorious above their heads like a sun, even as the real one in the sky began to set behind it, lending brilliant rays of red and orange to the scene. Korra always loved the pro-bending arena; it was one of the first places to represent true freedom to her, and it remained a place of sanctity for her often mixed emotions, to go and punch a few bags, or throw a few rocks, and feel more in control of her world for an hour or two. But now, as she glanced over at Asami getting out of the driver’s side, the arena took on an even more appealing glow as she thought about sharing this private side of herself with the omega. There was so much in Asami that made Korra want to share, and that was terrifying, especially considering she still felt she couldn’t fully trust her….

But she shook those thoughts aside and joined her hand with the omega’s as they entered the building. She tugged Asami up a side set of steps, away from the crowd gathering around the concession stands, waiting for the match to begin. She wanted to show the taller girl where she and the boys worked out, and hopefully snag a few kisses before they went to the Avatar’s personal sky box (another gift from Tarrlok) to watch the match. Even without Asami’s heat, the omega was irresistible to her, and she couldn’t last long without wanting to steal her away to press up against the taller girl and make her moan in that throaty way that drove Korra wild.

Thankfully, the practice space was emptied of competitors, since everyone was likely getting into their locker rooms for the pre-match prep talks. Giggling, Asami allowed herself to be backed onto a bench and stretched out as Korra loomed over her, smugly assessing the omega’s lean form. The kiss was hot and sweet, and it stretched out into eternity as Korra lowered herself onto Asami and rocked their bodies together. She wasn’t trying to incite anything, not yet, but the feeling of closeness was too blissful to deny. Asami sighed into her ear as they broke off, and the smell of orange blossoms and hot, summer bonfire on the ocean’s shore was like a blanket that drowned her senses.

“ _Korra_?”

The high-pitched crackle in the familiar voice made her stop in mid-lick to Asami’s long neck, and she raised her head, guiltily, taking in two forms at the doorway, one with a hand clapped grimly over his eyes, the other’s mouth open in shock.

“Oh.” She swallowed, drawing herself back up into a sitting position as Asami quickly rearranged her clothes and scooted further away on the bench, face flushed with an embarrassed red. “Hi Bolin. Hi Mako.” She greeted her friends lamely, mouth dry.

“Hi?” Bolin squeaked back in response, goggling, even as Mako pulled his hand from his own eyes to shoot into Korra’s, giving her a clear look of disapproval and his trademark frown. She cleared her throat; she’d hoped the Fire Ferrets wouldn’t be on the roster tonight, but she was clearly wrong, and now the awkward conversation she’d wanted to put off for as long as possible had stumbled right into her lap.

“So, um…” Korra began, but Mako was already starting.

“Korra, are you _out of your mind_?!”

“Mako, don’t-“ Pleaded Bolin, throwing up his hands in a peacemaker’s stance between the two as Korra clenched her fists, staring down her friend as Mako did the same. Both were boiling over with ire; Korra at being interrupted, and Mako at seeing Korra with Asami.

“No, Bolin, she’s gone crazy. She’s making out with the enemy now!”

“Asami is _not_ the enemy!” Korra exploded, stepping protectively in front of the bench where the omega sat, eyes swept to one side, fidgeting uncomfortably with the edge of her skirt. “She’s just as much a pawn in this as I am, and you need to calm down so we can-“

“A ‘ _pawn_ ’?” Mako snorted, his eyes bulging with fury. “That’s ridiculous. Did she tell you that?” His eyes flung furiously to Asami, who raised her chin to meet his gaze, defiant and calm. He clenched his fists reflexively and took a step forward, raising a pointing figure to jab accusingly at the blood royal on the bench.

“Did she also tell you how she had her father’s men beat me to smithereens the night we were supposed to run away together? She wasn’t a pawn then, and she isn’t one now. Get real, Korra, you’re not _special_ to her.”

Korra opened her mouth to retaliate, but behind her Asami was rising off the bench, striding past her in a blaze of anger. “You don’t know anything about what she is to me, Mako.” She hissed, her eyes dangerous green slits. They squared off. The omega was only slightly shorter than Mako, but she was drawing herself up to every inch in her righteous fury, staring down the firebender as if he was an ant and she an oak tree.

“You think you know _so_ much,” she snapped at him. “You think you know everything about what happened that night, or why I wasn’t there, or why I couldn’t see you after. You never even tried to figure it out. You were too busy letting your hurt feelings speak for your sense, just like you’re doing now.”

“How _dare_ you!” Mako was pressing closer and closer the omega, in a way that made Korra’s alpha scream. She stepped between them, but Mako ignored her, focused only on Asami, his voice accusing and sharp. “I know what you said, and I know what I saw, and you don’t-“

“Wait.” Bolin‘s voice was commanding, which was unusual for the goofy young earthbender. “Everyone, stop.” He waited until all three sets of eyes turned to him, and then spread his hands reasonably. “We have two stories here, and we need to hear both sides. Nothing’s going to get resolved unless we have all the details, and that means talking it out, not screaming it out.”

Korra gave him a surprised look of approval. “That’s…that’s actually a good idea, Bo.”

He shot her an aggrieved glance. “You don’t have to sound so shocked.”

Turning back to his brother, he put a palm on his chest and guided him to the bench, sitting him down. “Here, you sit there.” He turned to Asami and offered her his hand, gallantly, and the omega broke her angry glare to smile thankfully at him. “And you…” he led her to a weight bench on the opposite side of the room. “Sit here.”

“Now!” He clapped his hands together, rubbing them almost gleefully. “Someone has to start, and tell their side of the story, and then the other person will tell theirs, and Korra and I can be the judges.” He pointed at Mako like a game show host. “You first, big bro.”

“We only have an hour left before we have to get ready for the tournament.” Mako attempted to point out, but Bolin merely waggled his eyebrows pleadingly and the firebender sighed with his usual lack of humor and crossed his arms, sinking further onto the bench. “ _Fine_.” He cleared his throat, and began, staring at the floor as he spoke.

“I first met Asami through Shady Shin. He was doing some work for her dad, setting up offside bets and stuff like that. Hiroshi’s a big gambler, and the Triad liked seeing his kind of action, so with his help, they ran all the casinos on the Sato’s side of town.” He lifted his chin and shot a pointed look at Asami as he continued. “They used to always say Hiroshi was good for big bets and big losses, and he would just bet twice as high the next time, never taking a break. Shady Shin was sure he was going to lose his company, and kept talking about his pretty omega daughter, who was coming by to try to talk him out of placing bets.”

Korra looked over at the ‘pretty omega daughter’ in question, who had her arms folded around her chest and her eyes to one side, refusing to look at any of them. Her heart constricted, imagining how Asami must’ve felt, going into the worst gang dens in the city trying to coax her father home. But Mako was continuing, and she forced herself to look back at her friend.

“I met her one day when I was taking the receipts to the boss, and she ran into me.” At that, Mako’s lip curled almost fondly, and Korra was startled herself at the similarity of her first meeting with Asami. “Scattered receipts everywhere. She helped me gather them up, and….” He looked helplessly at his hands. “We started dating after that.”

Though she knew it, logically, hearing Mako say it was a different matter entirely. She knew Mako had had an ex before her, had known it when they first started dating months before, when she’d first arrived in the city, because Mako’s wounds had been fresh then. But knowing about Mako having dated someone else was different about knowing that Mako had dated Asami, and her heart thudded with a mixture of jealousy and strangled hurt as waves of belated realization crashed over her. Mako had been broken up over a girl when they’d met, and Asami was that girl. _Asami_ had been the girl that Korra had been insecure about; the omega who’d broken Mako’s heart.

Korra had always felt shame over being an alpha, of being stronger than any potential boyfriend and more robust, sexually, than most women, and when she was first infatuated with the firebender, it had hurt to know that his mysterious, seldom-discussed former love was an omega, and therefore a more ‘desirable’ candidate in Korra’s mind. Now….knowing that that omega was Asami, and the most desirable candidate for Korra herself…it was even more confusing. She no longer wanted Mako, and, in fact, was conflicted somewhat over whether she had ever wanted him in the first place or just the idea of him... but she _did_ want Asami, and knowing that, it made the way she felt about Mako’s feelings toward the omega even more complex.

“Things got…intense.” Mako admitted, his voice rough as he stared intently at his hands. “I really liked her and I thought she…well, I _thought_ she really liked me too.” He raised his eyes balefully to Asami, who met his gaze for a moment and then looked away. “We knew her father wouldn’t accept me because I was a firebender, but she promised it didn’t matter to her. She said we could run away together when it came time for her next heat, somewhere he couldn’t find her and punish her for disobeying him. And I wanted to, so I agreed.”

He looked up at Bolin, who was giving him a hurt expression. “We were going to send for you, once we got somewhere safe, and once the heat died down. But I couldn’t tell you, just in case. She was always worried her father would have spies watching us.”

Bolin nodded, somewhat mollified. “So what happened next?” He looked over at Asami and shrugged. “I mean, no offense, but we all know you didn’t run away together.”

Mako nodded grimly. “No, we didn’t.” He stared down at Asami, who met his gaze this time, and addressed his final retort to her.

“On the night we were supposed to leave together, a week before her heat was due, I packed what little I had and went to the docks at midnight to wait for her. She was supposed to give me a signal, something only she and I knew about; a cat-owl cry.” He lifted his eyes and they were pained, remembering old trauma. “Well, I heard the cat-owl all right, but it wasn’t her. It was Hiroshi, and about a dozen of his toughest alpha bodyguards, all kitted out with electric staffs. He told me everything; how Asami had been leading me along this whole time to get information on the Triad’s businesses and debts, because I was running numbers for them. He said she never really loved me. He said she told him where I would be, and told him our plan, and they laughed together about me and my bender foolishness, thinking _I_ could have the blood royal.”

His mouth gave an anguished twist. “And he was right. They beat me to a pulp that night. So bad I couldn’t even think, couldn’t remember where I was. He wanted to kill me, and it almost worked. I would’ve died if Pabu hadn’t found me and got Bolin.” He grimaced, looking up at his brother. “I told you the Triad turned on me, which was technically true, and that we couldn’t work for them anymore, and we went on the streets again. And then we moved into the bending arena, and then we met Korra.”

Korra felt sick, and the color had drained from her face. The details were different from her and Mako’s experiences with falling for the seductive omega, but the similarities were strong. Asami might be leading her to the same fate…but would she _really_ do that? She turned to look once more at the blood royal, but Asami was looking away, somewhere at a fixed point to the side of the floor, seemingly distraught. Korra was torn between the desire to step to her and comfort her, and the desire to be comforted herself, to be told this wasn’t the truth. She shuddered.

Bolin spoke up, slowly. “Oohkay. So that’s…um…a lot of stuff I never knew about, and that’s good, that’s fine, we’re certainly not going to have to talk later about how you planned to leave your brother behind for a girl you just met. Nope. Not _at all_.” He glared meaningfully at Mako until his lanky brother dropped his eyes, guilt-stricken, and then continued. “But that’s only one side of the story.” He turned back to the dark-haired omega, who was now clutching the edges of the bench beside her knees, refusing to look at any of them. “Asami? Um, would you…?”

Asami sighed. “I don’t see why I should play this game.” She said to the floor in a monotone. “I’m not going to ever convince Mako of the truth, so why should I try?”

“ _See_?!” Mako exploded again, flinging his arms out in Asami’s direction. “She’s not even going to try because she knows it’s the truth!”

Asami lifted her eyes in a glowing green glare. “It’s not the truth. I just don’t feel like dredging up very painful memories but since you _insist_ …” She rolled her eyes, but the gesture was savage, anguished, and the sigh that followed was deep and heavy.

“Mako has most of it right. We _were_ going to run away together that night, and my father _did_ meet him there instead, but he was lying about me leading him on. He wanted to hurt Mako, and he knew he could do it emotionally as well as physically.” She admitted, quietly, and sighed again, as if she couldn’t really believe she was talking about this.

“So you _did_ really want to run away with him?” Bolin asked, speaking the words from Korra’s heartsick mind.

Asami raised her eyes and caught Mako’s stare across the room. For a moment the firebender and non-bender stared at each other until she spoke. “Yes.” She said, in a low, soft voice.

The room fell silent.

“Then what happened?” Bolin questioned again, his face twisted with confusion.

Asami looked at her knees. “I got caught.” She said simply. When that clearly wasn’t enough and Bolin gestured emphatically at her, she continued. “My father caught me packing. He was furious. He…he got violent with me. He made me tell him everything.” She looked at them all, and her eyes were baleful. “He hurt me. Badly enough to make me talk.”

Mako looked stricken, and his mouth worked, but he said nothing. Bolin looked like he regretted ever asking, and was uncomfortably shifting from side to side, and Korra felt absolutely numb, staring at Asami, who continued as if she was robotically reading a script. “He said he would kill Mako, so I begged him not to, but he said I had disgraced him. I followed them, injured as I was, and saw his alphas attack Mako in the street. I knew I couldn’t help without my father retaliating on him further, but I knew Pabu usually hung out by the dumpsters nearby, waiting for Mako to get off shift and give him a snack. I found him, and sent him after you, Bolin, because I knew about you but didn’t know where to find you myself. I wanted to get back to Mako, before I could, my father found me.”

“What did he do when he found you?” Korra found herself asking, as if she was watching herself from far away. _Oh, Asami._  She thought. _You brave thing._

“He knew I’d helped Mako, you see.” Asami’s voice was a sour monotone. She looked as far away as Korra felt. Her eyes were dull. “He also knew I was close to my heat, and so he decided the best punishment was to show me what a man really wanted from an omega during her heat, beta or not.” Her fingers curled into her palm, and Korra could see little white half-moon imprints where her nails dug in.

”He….took me to the Dragon Flats. Drugged me. Left me unconscious in an alpha den, naked.” She dug her nails in deeper as a tear threatened to roll down her cheek.

“Oh _no_.” Bolin sucked in a breath, and he came to sit beside Asami on the weight bench, placing a hand gently on her shoulders. Mako, across the room, had buried his head in his hands, as if the truth was too much for him to bear. Korra stood in the center of the room, feeling helpless.

“Why…why would he do that to you? His _own_ _daughter_?” Korra rasped, finally.

Asami shrugged as if careless but her pained expression belied the action. “I disobeyed him.” She said, as if that answered everything. “He didn’t want me with a bender. And if I wasn’t going to help him get leverage against the Triad for his debts, then I wasn’t worth keeping.”

“But…you’re his _daughter_.” Korra couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Tonraq, her own father, wasn’t delighted with the prospect of Mako as a son-in-law, but he’d kept a cheerful face about it, at least, and was polite, if a bit frosty, to the firebender. She simply couldn’t imagine her father drugging her and leaving her unconscious to be raped as a form of punishment.

“Don’t worry.” Asami’s harsh laugh was unnaturally loud in the silence of the room. “I made it out anyway. That proved my worth, and he decided to make me his strong right hand instead of ignoring me. Keeps me close to him, so I can’t disobey again.” She lifted her eyes to Korra’s, and for a moment, there was a flash of fear so strong it cut like a knife, but then it was gone again, in an instant.

“Asami, I-“ Mako began, and then stopped. He looked ravaged by guilt and grief and even though she knew it was irrational, Korra suddenly wanted to hit him for even speaking to Asami. He tried again. “I don’t know what I can say, I-“

“Mako, it’s okay.” The omega sighed, heavily, examining her knees as if they held all the secrets she wanted to keep contained. “I didn’t expect you to know what happened. I’m sorry you ever got involved with me. I’m poison, you see.” She lifted her chin again and her face was stark with bitterness. “All the Satos are is poison.”

“Don’t say that.” Korra was speaking before she could stop herself, and the fierceness in her voice surprised her, as well as Asami, who looked up at her. “Don’t you ever say that. You’re not like him.” She cleared her throat, and stepped back, aware of all of the eyes in the room on her, but the damage was done. She’d said it.

“Korra.” Asami’s eyes were shining with repressed tears and she looked like she wanted to say more, but then she remembered where they were and their audience. She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”

“Well, that was a lot more than I expected.” Bolin joked nervously, and glanced at the clock on the training wall, jumping slightly. “And now we only have ten minutes to get ready. I’m sorry, Asami, I really am, for bringing this up and making you talk about it, but now we have to go, I’m sorry.” His face twisted in genuine apology.

“It’s okay. You should go. But I’m glad. I haven’t told anyone about it, and it….it’s okay.” Asami lifted her face to Bolin’s, and he gave her a quick, awkward hug. Her eyes met Mako’s over Bolin’s shoulders; the firebender was rubbing his neck and looking miserable. “Mako. I want you to know. Whatever there was between us…before it got messed up, it was good. I’m sorry you got hurt, but I’m not sorry I met you.”

 _She loves him._ Korra thought in a sick, angry rush before she could stop herself. _She would’ve been with him if not for her father. She loves him loves him loves him-_ She had to shake her head to stop the intrusive, insidious voice, and her head ached. _Now is not the time,_ she told herself firmly. _Asami needs you to be supportive. It doesn’t matter who she loves, then or now._ But the insistent thought wound its way inside her brain again, whispering. 

Meanwhile, Mako, to his credit, almost dropped to his knees before he straightened. “Asami, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for attacking you, and assuming, and…everything. I didn’t know.” He looked in askance at her. “I _didn’t know_.” He said again, but then his face drew into a grimace and he stalked out of the door, clearly too uncomfortable with his feelings to continue talking. Bolin shot one last apologetic glance at Korra and Asami, and darted after him, calling out to his brother to wait. 

“Well, that was fun.” Asami broke the strained silence, crossing her arms tightly over her body.

“I’m sorry.” Korra pinched the bridge of her nose. “This was not what I had in mind when I brought you here, obviously. I didn’t know they were playing tonight. I still don’t know how.” She realized suddenly. “I wonder where they got a third player. But it doesn’t matter.” She hastened to add. “I’m sorry you had to recount bad memories.” She finished lamely. It didn’t quite feel adequate for what Asami had described, but she was at a loss, all around.

The omega wasn’t looking at her, or appearing to listen. Her face was blank and her eyes flat, as if she was observing a play of someone else’s life, someone else’s trauma. “It’s okay. I guess I had to tell him sooner or later.”

“Asami.” Korra rubbed her neck, unconsciously mimicking Mako from mere minutes earlier. “What you said about your father. How he keeps you close so you can’t disobey.” Asami looked at her, finally, and she gulped, continuing. “What will he do if he finds out you went into heat? With me?”

“I don’t know.” Asami responded, and that sudden flash of fear was back, stronger this time. “But I _don’t_ want to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to stretch this chapter to include some of Asami and Korra’s much-needed discussion and some later action scenes, but that will have to wait until the next one! See you all then! <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pro-bending tournament comes to a head with Hiroshi’s plans

The skybox was lavishly appointed in Southern water tribe style, with animal furs and ceremonial warrior’s masks, but Korra hardly noticed any of it, as she and Asami quietly sat on opposite ends of a large plush couch. They hadn’t spoken again since the training room, and the walk to the skybox had been awkward and silent. Korra knew she should scan the crowd, and look for where Tenzin was stationed; since Tarrlok’s initiatives, the threats from Amon over his radio broadcasts had increased, and the airbender had convinced Lin Beifong to help him watch over inflammatory events like pro-bending matches. She couldn’t focus, however. Korra was awash in emotions, as usual, and she fidgeted, unsure of what Asami was feeling. The older girl was staring at the fabric of the couch quietly, but intently, as if she was lost in her own thoughts, and Korra was tugged between her desire to comfort the older girl and her desire to question her.

In the end, the questions won out.

“Why did you go _back_?” She blurted out, before fully realizing her words had been spoken out loud. When Asami looked quizzically at her, she clarified: “To your father, I mean. After he left you in the Flats. Why did you go back? You’re old enough…you could have sued for your half of the fortune and left.”

Asami looked at her as if she was speaking another language. “He’s my father.” She replied. “He’s all I have left.” She spread her fingers on the edge of her skirt, looking down.

“But he treats you like an object!” Korra burst out, feeling helpless to stop her words from tumbling forth. “He used you to try and manipulate me, didn’t he? And then he used you as the bargaining chip for the contract like your blood royal status was a trigger he could pull at any time… _Spirits_ , Asami, the way he talked about you, like you weren’t even there, like you were _property_....” She clenched her fists in fury, remembering how smugly Hiroshi had discussed Asami’s fertility.

“Korra, don’t.” Asami sounded tired, and the Avatar’s heart swelled with guilt and agony over the pain she had inadvertently caused the omega. “I can’t talk about this. Not with you. It’s…too hard to explain.”

“Asami, I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to make you talk about it, but…” She trailed off, unsure of what to ask. _Do you still love Mako?_ Her brain insisted, worrying at her ragged, twisted thoughts like Naga with a bone. _Do you...could you love me?_

“Are you still your father’s ‘strong right hand’?” She said finally, her heart in agony over even having to ask, but she needed to know. She had to know. “Are you still helping him to help Amon? To betray me?”

Asami’s head shot up and her green eyes bored into Korra’s soul. Her face was contorted in what looked like a mixture of anger and misery, and she opened her mouth to speak…but then the drums began, to signal the start of the match. Bolin and Mako were walking out onto the field with Hasook, the replacement waterbender they’d played with unsuccessfully a few times before Korra had officially joined the team.

Korra cringed as she saw the Fire Ferrets make an attempt at a brave stand for their opening introduction, Pabu doing his best to leap in time with Bolin’s earth disks. She felt bad; having been occupied with Asami’s heat had left her teammates one man down for their tournament run, and Hasook was no replacement. It was the championship, and her lust had left her team essentially crippled, facing up against Tahno and his tricks.

But her guilt could only last so long in the face of her burning need to know what Asami had been about to say. She grabbed the omega’s hand, and the older girl looked down at it as if it was a ghost. Her lips clamped shut and she wrenched her hand from Korra’s grasp.

“I told you,” she said angrily, refusing to look at the Avatar. “I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

“So you _are_ working for him?” Korra’s voice rose loud enough to be heard even as the Wolf Bat’s ostentatious display of fireworks went off around the ring, bathing the field in an eerie red glow.

“Korra,  _let it go_ -“

“No! Asami, answer the fucking question; are you or are you not an Equalist?” Korra slammed her hands on the couch, displacing an ornate throw pillow and completely ignoring the match as it began, even as a part of her itched to see how her friends were doing without her help. Her mind was racing; was breaking the suppressant a trick? Could she have somehow faked her heat? Was Asami only faking being interested in her? What if this was all a trap? She shook with suppressed fears.

“ _No!_ ” Asami nearly screamed back in response, her fists rising at her sides. “I’m not a goddamn Equalist, I’m not a goddamn anything. Not anymore. Are you _happy_?”

Korra barely registered the denial, or the words ‘not anymore’. Instead she opened her mouth to say something foul, something she would definitely regret, when a cry from the field below had her jaw snapping shut and her body craning forward to catch the action, as beside her, Asami also fell silent.

Mako and Bolin were backed into a corner in the third row, defending with all their might against Tahno and Ming’s relentless onslaught, but Hasook was already facedown on the field, and from his ashen expression, he wasn’t getting up any time soon. Mako was on the ropes, and Korra ached for her friend; he’d put his heart and soul into training this team, and now his championship shot was about to be decimated. Tahno and Ming were using illegal moves, definitely not allowed, but the ref was either blind or had been paid off; he wasn’t calling any fouls. Bolin took a sharp shot of ice to the face, and he cried out, stumbling back into his brother. Mako tried to correct his stance, but he fell, and the brothers tumbled to the water below.

“No!” Korra cried out, gripping the railing of the skybox. “Mako! Bolin! Oh _damnit_ , I knew I should have been there.” Suddenly, her anger flared again, as well as her arrogance. She needed a target for her guilt, instead of her own shoulders, and the omega was just sitting there with her mouth agape, staring fixedly at the referee as if she’d seen him somewhere before. Korra snarled, fixating her rage on the unwary omega. “You! This is all _your_ fault!”

Asami’s eyes rose to meet hers again and she snorted contemptuously. “How, exactly-“ she began, but Korra swiftly cut her off. Logic had no place in her wroth-like state.

“If I hadn’t been stuck satisfying some _Equalist’s_ heat,” she pointed her finger accusingly at Asami’s chest, as her ire rose, obscuring her reasonable mind in waves of red, “then I would’ve been at practices, and if I’d been at practices I would’ve been on the team for the tournament and we would’ve won. This is your fault.” She snarled again, ignoring the voice in her head that yelled at her that she was being irrational, cruel, stupid, even.

Asami rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to begin what was undoubtably a scathing tirade, but she was once again interrupted, this time by Tahno’s imperious shout. Korra looked down as well, and for a moment they were both silent, staring down into the arena’s depths where the Wolf Bats celebrated their ill-gotten victory.

“Anyone else wanna scrap with the champs?” The cheating waterbender alpha cried, his victory stink smug and washing over the crowd in rolling clouds. Korra wrinkled her nose, and turned to Asami, trying to remember what she was going to say, but the omega had gone stark white, and she was staring rather urgently at the pillar where the referee had been, now unoccupied.

“Korra.” 

“What, Asami? You’re not going to-“

“Korra, we have to get Mako and Bolin and get out of here, right _now_.” Asami’s hand shot out and curled tightly around her arm, surprising her out of her anger. She looked down dumbly at the slender fingers while the omega shook her gently. “That referee is an Equalist, he works for my father. This is a _trap_!”

“A trap?” The alpha asked slowly, feeling like her mind was full of molasses. She tried to shift gears, but the white heat of her anger had burned out her logical faculties.

While she tried to process, a sudden flurry of blue sparks rose in unison across the stands, crackling waves of savage electricity. Korra knitted her brows in confusion, and then she saw Tenzin’s red robes, fluttering as he went down with a shock to his spine, his aristocratic face etched in horror as he fell. An Equalist in a mask, stepped out from behind him, wielding a glove with some kind of charging device in the center, still spitting with electricity. Across from him, she could see Lin Beifong, already laying face down in the aisle of the stands, her grey hair covering her scarred face. Another masked Equalist was stepping over her prone form, wearing an identical glove.

“ _Tenzin_!” Korra screamed. “Chief Beifong!” She whirled on Asami, searching the omega’s face for answers even as she knew she wouldn’t find them. “What’s happening here? What kind of trap? _Asami_!”

“We have to go,” Asami’s eyes swept the room, and found a ceremonial sword, longer than she was tall, hanging from the mantle. She yanked it free of its bindings and for a split, horrifying second, looked grimly at Korra as if she would run her through...but then Korra realized she was staring at the door, just behind, and she had an instant to understand: the Equalists were coming up the stairs to the box. She could hear them even now, trying to turn the knob swiftly and silently to take the Avatar without notice. She grabbed the other end of the sword, wincing as it cut into her hand, but she hardly felt the pain as she and Asami worked to wedge it through the door handle, holding it shut. Almost as soon as they stepped away, the door crackled with electricity, shooting sinister blue sparks off the steel of the sword.

“Korra, can you get us to the water?” Asami had moved swiftly back across the room and was looking over the edge of the railing, her face drawn and resolved. “We need to get down to Mako and Bolin; they’ve been electrocuted.”

The Avatar rushed to the railing to confirm, and Asami was right, unfortunately. She saw the limp forms of the bender brothers being dragged into a sitting position as the Lieutenant wrapped a bolas around them, binding them to a pillar below the arena floor, as above, the ceiling opened and Amon and a bevy of Equalists dropped from an airship on metal cables, swinging down to land neatly across from the stunned Wolf Bats.

She could barely process the sight of him, the epitome of all she feared, right there in the middle of her most precious sanctum, defiling it. The mask made her break out in a terrified sweat and her body clenched with waves of revulsion, but Amon and his team were making quick work of the Wolf Bats, disabling their bending as if it was child’s play. Everything was happening fast, so fast that Korra barely had time to absorb the fact that Asami was lowering herself over the railing, testing the ledge below with one dainty-looking boot.

“What are you _doing_?!” She exploded, grabbing onto the omega’s upper body to haul her back over. She practically dragged the slim form up and back into the box, ignoring the taller girl’s protesting squeak. Even though, mere minutes before, she had been screaming her fear and rage out at the other girl, the thought of Asami going over the railing made her sick with worry. “Are you _crazy_?”

“Korra, look at me.” Asami gripped her shoulders, her eyes searching the alpha’s face for understanding. “I know you don’t trust me, but you need to listen. They’re going to take Mako and Bolin unless we do something. We have to get down there and save your friends or he’ll take their bending away.”

As if to punctuate the omega’s statement, on the bending field, Amon had raised his hand to Tahno as the waterbender was forced to his knees before him, pleading and threatening, begging the Equalist leader not to take his bending. But it was in vain. The waterbender succumbed, his eyes rolling into his head, and he slumped backward as Amon’s thumb left his forehead. Korra sucked in a harsh breath as the embodiment of all her fears happened to what had previously been someone she’d considered as a nemesis. Now she realized she had been wrong. Having one’s bending removed was something she would never again wish on her worst enemy.

And besides, Amon was the real enemy.

The Wolf Bats limp bodies were kicked unceremoniously over the side, splashing into the water as Amon turned to the crowd, his hands raised as he began his speech, clearly intending to make a big impression. Korra couldn’t concentrate on him, however, and she clenched her teeth as she saw the tied-up forms of her friends, on the second level, below Amon’s pacing and ranting about freedom and bending oppression.

“Let’s go.” Was all she could say. Fear had thickened her tongue.

She grabbed a hold of Asami’s jacket, and pulled the non-bender to her chest, wrapping one arm around her as she whipped up a water spout and leapt forward, allowing the cushion of the water to catch them. Luckily, the Equalists on the plateau were absorbed in Amon’s speech, and his back was turned, so they made it safely to the lower level, teetering a bit before Korra laid them non-too-gently onto the platform where Mako and Bolin were tied up.

Pabu trilled from across the water and began swimming to join them, his tiny body adorned in a miniature Fire Ferrets uniform. He greeted Asami as if she was an old friend, winding his sleek form around her legs and climbing to her shoulder as she knelt to examine the ropes binding the unconscious boys to the pillar. “Korra, I can’t untie these, we’ll have to cut them loose somehow.”

The Avatar nodded grimly and fashioned a sharp dagger of ice. She clutched it, and motioned to the doors, leading to the locker rooms and a street-level exit. “Asami, you’ve got to get the Satomobile and bring it here, so we can get out as soon as I get them released. I have to grab Tenzin and Lin too.”

The heiress nodded, and rose to her feet, dashing for the door across the walkway. She spared a quick glance over her shoulder at the Avatar, and Korra felt her heart clench painfully in confused spasms, but then the omega was gone, darting down into the hallway that lead to the outside world. For a moment Korra felt a stab of fear that the omega wouldn’t ever come back, or if she did, she would be leading a party of Equalists…but she brushed her anxiety aside and focused on sawing through the ropes, as beside her, Pabu diligently began chewing to help in whatever way he could.

“Korra?” Mako was coming awake, groggily, as Bolin shook his head and stirred in the bindings.

“Shhh,” she cautioned. “Stay still, I’m cutting you loose.”

“Where’s Asami?” He asked, and she couldn’t help but stiffen at the thought of him still being in love with the blood royal. His behavior seemed to indicate it, but she couldn’t tell; jealousy, worry and doubt were all clouding her mind.

“I sent her to get the Satomobile so we can make a quick exit. She’s the one who saw you guys get knocked out.” Korra tried for casual, working furiously at the ropes with her makeshift saw. “I wouldn’t have seen it otherwise; they snuck up on all of us. Tenzin and Lin are out too.”

“Yeah, the Lieutenant was here, with those fucking sticks of his.” Mako didn’t often swear, so she knew he was really in pain as he grimaced, and she hurried to saw away the last remaining rope. “Really packs a wallop, that guy. Doesn’t fight fair though.”

“Oh I don’t know, firebender,” a horribly familiar voice echoed through the lower level, as Hiroshi and the Lieutenant stepped out from the shadows, followed by a train of chi-blockers. “I’d say,” the industrialist continued, a wry humorous tint to his voice, “all things considered, we’ve only made the playing field more _equal_.”

Korra rolled her eyes at the poor pun and stood, as behind her the brothers shrugged free of their bindings and Mako helped Bolin to his feet, glaring at Hiroshi with slitted, hate-filled eyes. The older alpha was wearing two shock gloves, one on either hand, and his palms crackled with blue light as behind him, the Lieutenant twirled his sticks menacingly, spreading the static electricity between them. The two alphas advanced as one, pressing the small group of younger adults back against the pillar. Bolin adopted a fighting stance, and Pabu chittered defiantly from his shoulder as Korra and Mako flanked him, each grimly dropping into position.

“All this time…” Korra growled, unable to keep her eyes off of the smug elder Sato, who was no longer looking the part of the jovial patriarch, but rather, with his hair astray from the static and his breathing heavy, he was looking much more like the keen-eyed fanatic she now knew him to be. “All this time you’ve been helping the Equalists. Giving Asami to me with your sham contract…that was just a way to buy time so you could get me in a vulnerable position.”

“Yes and no, Avatar.” The elder Sato spread his hands, his posture deceptively calm. “My father always said there are two ways you can get an ox-bear to do what you want it to do; you can either dangle a piece of fruit, or you can hit it with a stick. My daughter was the fruit we dangled, but, seeing as how that fruit _failed_ to avoid being eaten…” His lip curled. “Well, luckily we also have a stick.” He nodded to the Lieutenant, who struck out with the foremost of his two electrified escrima.

Korra deflected the blow, spinning but the silent assailant caught her in the knees as she tried to rise, and she fell once more, stumbling backwards. She cried out in pain and Mako rushed to her side, as the Lieutenant retreated back to Hiroshi’s side, spinning his sticks casually as if he had all the time in the world.

“Hiroshi, you _monster_.” Mako snarled, bunching his fists in fury and gathering his flames to his hands in jetting daggers. “Your daughter isn’t a tool, and Korra isn’t going anywhere with you.”

“Oh I think you’ll find both of those assumptions to be incorrect.” Hiroshi let out a dry laugh, but there was no humor in it. He jabbed his chin once more at the Lieutenant. “Take them.”

“Dad, _stop_.”

The familiar, deeply pained voice from the doorway made them all turn and look. Asami was standing there, quavering slightly but tall and strong, her fists clenched at her sides and she was looking at her father in such an anguished, heartfelt way that it turned Korra’s throat into knots. Several things happened at once.

“Asami, _no_! Get out of here-!” Korra began, just as Mako was doing the same, crying out for her to run. Her father exchanged a quick glance with the Lieutenant and then raised his eyes just in time to notice the look tossed desperately between Korra and Asami like a ship caught in a storm. Hiroshi took a step forward, spreading his arms, his face shifting into an almost-gentle smile.

“Asami. I know you’re confused. I know these…these benders have filled your head with lies about what the world is supposed to be like, but you and I know the truth, don’t we?” He nodded as if she’d agreed. “Yes, your mother taught you the truth when she died at the hands of benders just like them, benders who thought they needed to change the world. Think about what they did to your mother.”

Asami’s face darkened and her eyes were unreadable, staring at Hiroshi as if she was a bird hypnotized by a snake. Korra wanted to scream, wanted to throw herself between them, but it was too late, the Sato alpha’s voice droned on and on, seeming to soothe Asami into a trance just as much as it infuriated the Avatar. _No_ , she thought desperately, _he’s lying, no don’t listen_ …but her mouth seemed to be jammed shut with the glue of her sticky, complex emotions.

Hiroshi slid one of his gloves off now, as he approached even further, and Asami was looking at him almost hopefully, like a little girl waiting for her father to hand her a toy. Korra’s heart sank as he reached her, and offered one of the shock gloves in an outstretched hand, his voice a sinister web that he was weaving between himself and his daughter.

“Join me, Asami. I’ll forgive you for your little ‘indiscretion’ with your heat; we can take care of any…accidents. But you have to help me do your duty, first. Amon is waiting….”

Asami looked at Korra one last time, and the Avatar almost cried out to her then. Then those emerald eyes hardened again, like a pair of perfect gemstones, and she took the glove from her father in one easy motion, slipping it onto her hand.

“No…” Bolin gasped, and Mako cried out: “Asami, don’t!”

But it was too late, the omega was staring down at the device in her palm, fitting the glove over her wrist. She looked into the blue sparks that generated whenever she clenched her fingers, as if admiring their glow, and her face was lit with the harsh light of the volts dancing in her hand. Korra’s heart felt like it was going to burst, and she thought wildly; This is it, this is what they mean when they say your heart breaks….

Asami’s eyes suddenly focused with a sharp pinpoint, and she looked up into her father’s eyes with an almost apologetic grimace, before her face shifted into a grim expression. Hiroshi had a split second to realize what was happening and have it register on his shocked, outraged face before she said the words.

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

And then she drove the glove into his eye.

Hiroshi screamed, and the air filled with the smoking, sizzling smell of charred meat, sickeningly making Korra’s stomach gurgle in response. At the same time, a series of explosions began above them, destroying the playing field, and sending massive chunks of debris plummeting into the water. Massive waves drenched their tiny platform, and the Lieutenant let out a low, terrifying rumble that was almost a roar, and charged at Asami, escrima raised in a deadly arc.

But the omega was ready for him. She swung to avoid his first stick, and kicked neatly to deflect the second, until she could slam her palm into his chest and flip him over her hip as if he weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Amon’s finest henchman went down into the water with a surprised grunt, and behind them, the Sato elder was shrieking and writhing on the platform, clutching his ruined face between his hands as smoke poured from a pus-bubbling wound where his left eye socket had been. He screamed his daughter’s name, over and over, like a banshee’s wail, and it was a deeply unpleasant sound.

But she ignored him, striding past his scrabbling fingers to help to pull a stunned and overwhelmingly awestruck Korra to her feet. Mako and Bolin merely gaped, each startled for once into complete silence.

“Are you okay?” Asami asked, looking worriedly over Korra’s form for any injuries from the Lieutenant. “I couldn’t get to the Satomobile, the exit’s blocked so we’re going to have to find another-“

But Korra was kissing her then, and swallowing any remaining words in the passion of her action. She threaded her bruised and bloodied fingers through Asami’s fine black hair, pulling her closer, as her other hand pressed at the small of her back, and she kissed her deeply, as if she was delivering life-saving oxygen…until the omega’s hand pushed gently against her chest, and she remembered where they were.

“Sorry,” she addressed Mako and Bolin sheepishly, but her hand refused to leave Asami’s waist for a long moment. Finally, disengaging from Asami’s warmth, she shook herself to clear her thoughts.

“All right. Anyone have any ideas on how we’re going to get the hell out of here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for yet another cliffhanger, folks! I had to split this chapter into two because it is becoming massive, with more fight scenes coming up. Then we get back to the good ol fluff and smut. <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Equalists attack, and Team Avatar is forced to make decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for going so long in between updates! I never like to have longer than a week, so this was a big pain in the ass. I got seriously blocked this week, and had to take some time to really sit down with it over the weekend. Hope its worth the wait! <3

Even as Korra spoke, Asami could feel the ground shaking below her feet. The whole arena was going to collapse soon. She could smell fire and cold night air from the stands above, and looked up to see an airship moving into position above the hole in the ceiling, obscuring the stars. Her vision blurred and she blinked, several times, trying to orient herself. Without meaning to, she looked back over to where her father had been laying on the ground, calling her name like a curse, a lash meant to strike her into obedience…but he _wasn’t there_. Her stomach gave a lurch, and she looked back again just in time to see the chi-blocker guards her father had brought with him advancing silently on the Avatar and her friends, who had their backs turned as they looked up anxiously into the stands.

“Korra!” She had time to yell a warning and reflexively struck out with her glove, landing a blow on the nearest chi-blocker before he could hit Korra in the spine, and she dropped low to avoid the oncoming rush of the next.

Behind her, the alpha gave a surprised yelp and then reacted quickly, spinning a wheel of water around her that deflected the chi-blocker who had snuck silently up on her, hoping to get the drop on the Avatar. She sent that attacker splashing into the moat, and turned to use a streak of flame to knock away the opponent Bolin was battling against, as he backed up against Mako.

Asami joined them, striking out with her glove, and she was pleased to see how effective it was against the chi-blockers. The benders were hard-pressed to land their hits, but she was doing just fine. A modicum of respect for her father’s ingenuity entered her brain and resonated, allowing her to briefly imagine other applications for this technology. And then she realized that she was thinking like someone who hadn’t just melted half of her father’s face off, and the thought struck her like a blow, leaving her open and vulnerable to attack as her thoughts spun out crazily around _father_ and _loyalty_ and _what have I done_ ….

“ _Asami_!” She heard Korra’s ferocious roar before she saw her, and then the alpha was knocking away a chi-blocker who had been behind Asami, intending to hit her spine. The masked woman was sent spiraling into the air from an upthrust rock ledge below her feet. Dazed, Asami hardly noticed how close she’d been to danger; the only thing she saw was Korra’s worried face, dirtied from the explosions and a little bloody, and she reached her hand out to brush a stray lock of hair behind the alpha’s ear, as if that was the important thing to do right now.

Luckily, Mako and Bolin had made short work of the other two attackers, and they were alone again, but for the shaking of the building, the screams of the crowd as they rushed to escape, and Pabu’s anxious trills from his position on Bolin’s shoulder. As the bender brothers joined them, the foursome moved into an instinctive square, defending all sides, and Asami had a momentary surge of rightness from being in a team, working as a unit for a common cause. It only aided to her confusing, troubled feelings, however, and she turned them inward as she moved to address the group.

“My father disappeared somehow.” She let each face process this fact, before moving on, speaking in a low urgent voice. “He’s escaping right now, and we have to catch him while he’s injured, or we may never get this chance again.”

“Are you sure he isn’t….dead?” Bolin asked, and Mako smacked him in the shoulder. “What? I’m not being insensitive, I’m just saying. He could have rolled into the water and drowned.”

“Bolin, that is the _definition_ of insen-“

Asami shook her head vehemently, interrupting Mako’s scathing retort. “He’s not dead. He’s retreating. This is what he does. But he’s going to come back harder than ever unless we get him now.”

She looked at Korra when she said it, because that was the only person she truly needed to understand. Korra could affect this situation in ways none of them could. Everyone else here was a pawn in her father’s game, but he _feared_ the Avatar, and that was the only weapon they could use against him.

The alpha nodded grimly. “Where would he go?”

As if in answer to her question, the scorching zing sound of the metal cables made them all look up to the broken floor of the arena above. Amon and his henchmen were ascending to the airship, each stepping to grab onto a cable or climb aboard mobile platform. Among them was her father. Hiroshi was clearly in agony, half of his face a bubbling, ruined mess, but he was upright and clutching the cable, even if he had to be supported by the Lieutenant. What little could be seen of his expression was etched in a murderous rage. Her throat closed and she felt fear jolt through her spine.

“There!” Asami pointed, but it was moot, the team was already in motion. Bolin raised the ground they were standing on and the plinth of earth rocketed to the higher level, bursting onto the ravaged field just as the last cable disappeared from sight. Mako leapt clear of the debris of the field, and shot jet after jet of fire at the chi-blockers clinging to the cables, but it was in vain; they swung higher and dodged his attacks.

“Damn it!” He exploded. “How are we going to get on that ship?”

“Avatar!”

Their heads turned as one to see Lin Beifong swinging down from the stands, apparently recovered from her shock. The metal zip lines attached to her arm braces allowed her to effortlessly reach them on the field, and she strode to meet them, quickly giving Korra a brusque assessment for injuries.

“Good, you’re alive. I’ve put Tenzin and some of my metalbenders in a safe location, but we need to get out soon; this whole place is going to blow.” She did a double take as she saw Asami step into view. “What in _blazes_ is the Sato girl doing here? Avatar, have you lost your-“

“Chief Beifong.” Asami cut her off neatly. “Where are your metalbenders located? I have a Satomobile parked on the west side of the building, and if we can access it we can get them out.”

Beifong gave Asami a cool look of appraisal, as if seeing her for the first time, and only took a moment of hesitation before she responded. “They’re in a tunnel facing the water. If you can swing your Satomobile over the leeward side, you should find a clear track.”

“Someone has to stop Amon and Hiroshi before they escape.” Korra pointed out, eyes trained fixedly on the retreating metal cables. She shot a brief, pleading glance back over her shoulder. “Asami, I have to-“

“I know.” The omega cupped her cheek briefly, and then tore herself away, aware of everyone’s eyes on her, and cleared her throat. “Mako, Bolin, I could use some cover and help clearing debris.”

The bender brothers nodded as one, determinedly, and Beifong wasted no further time. “Then you know what you have to do.” She shot a cable to the ragged edge of the hole in the roof and zipped into the air.

Korra drew in a calming breath and slid her palms down to her sides. She lifted them again, and a giant water spout, a typhoon really, exploded from the murky depths of the arena’s moat, sucking the water from every corner. Asami only had time for the briefest of breaths as the Avatar leapt onto the back of the swirling, eddying maelstrom she had created and rode it up, up, up towards the airship. She couldn’t help but notice how fierce and strong the alpha looked, her eyes focused on Hiroshi’s retreating form, every muscle in her body tensed as she drew the wave ever higher. If Asami hadn’t been already been in love with Korra, that vision would’ve sealed the deal. As it was, her heart only contracted in her chest and beat a thousand times a second, feeling love suffuse her very veins.

The water spout weaved and tottered, and it stretched to its fullest extent trying to carry Korra further, but soon the water in the moat was dry, and there was no more room to give. Asami had time to think _Oh no_ , but it was already happening.The spout splashed back down, and Korra gave a startled cry, reaching for the ceiling with grasping fingers, while Asami watched in horror as she fell…

But Beifong was there, whipping out with the cables like a hand reaching down. Korra grabbed hold, and the older bender bodily threw her up through the hole in the ceiling, using the momentum of the lashing cable like a lariat. Relief washed through Asami’s entire being and she shook herself back into reality as another chunk of ceiling crashed down to the field dangerously near them, rattled loose from Beifong’s cables.

“C’mon!” Mako yelled, and she was sprinting after him and Bolin, dodging flying shrapnel and pieces of ceiling tile as they ran towards the far side exit, where the Chief had indicated there was a tunnel. Indeed, there was, just off the main staircase, and as they thundered down the steps, Asami caught sight of Tenzin’s unconscious form, supported between two metalbenders. Another pair of metalbenders raised their eyes apprehensively, but Mako was already yelling out orders.

“You’ve gotta follow us! Chief Beifong and the Avatar will meet us once we’re outside, but we have to go now, this building’s gonna collapse!”

Bolin rushed to help support the airbender and Mako chivied the police officers out the door, motioning frantically with his hands as they inexplicably obeyed him, a twenty-something former street rat, without question. There was just something terribly commanding about Mako in an emergency, and Asami spared a moment of admiration for her former lover. Even if her feelings toward him now were more stilted and uncomfortable than affectionate, she saw potential in him as a leader, and she was grateful to him, now, for taking charge when she couldn’t manage it. His eyes caught hers for a second, and she could see a wealth of guilt, apology and confusion welling up before she shook her head at him, quickly. He nodded in understanding. Later. They could talk later.

The ground gave an almighty heave below their feet and Asami startled back to reality. Mako gripped her arm and helped guide her from the tunnel, as behind them, huge chunks of metal and twisted wire and stadium seating collapsed where they had been only moments before. _Korra_ , Asami thought, and she outpaced Mako to the entrance, looking wildly in every direction for the alpha she loved as they reached Bolin and the metal benders grouped around the pier. She couldn’t see Korra anywhere, and the dust was swirling so thick on the ground that she was wracked with coughing. Everyone else was similarly affected, sinking to their knees as the air choked from their lungs, but a sudden blast of blessed oxygen surrounded them. Tenzin had recovered.

Red and yellow robes swirled as the airbender approached, clearing the smog and dust from where they stood. “Everyone okay?” He called.

“Tenzin, Korra’s on the roof!” Mako responded, frantic, and Asami’s head whipped around as her eyes searched desperately. Indeed, her heart sank as she saw a familiar figure on the crackling glass dome of the arena, almost dancing with the speed of her kicks as she went after a pair of benders trying to disable Beifong.

Asami’s throat constricted like a vise as she watched, her nails digging into her palm. Another familiar figure was on the roof, but this one was an unpleasant sight. The Lieutenant.

Blue electricity glittered in deadly shockwave arcs as the non bender approached the Avatar, threatening. But Korra was in no mood for subtle squaring off. The alpha charged full-bore into the Lieutenant, shooting flames so wide and strong that they looked like jets of airship propulsion. Even from her position hundreds of feet below, Asami could smell the potent, possessive alpha rage rolling off of the Water Tribe girl in sheets of musk. Embarrassingly, this sent a bolt through her clit and her inner omega uncoiled in her belly like a needy snake as wet slick coated her thighs. An alpha, _the_ alpha of all alphas, in fact, was defending her right now, and the primal part of her brain couldn’t help but respond to it. She shuddered under the calling, scrabbling hold of her arousal, even as fear warred fiercely with her lust.

Korra was enraged, and she was giving no quarter. The Lieutenant dodged back to try and get more ground, but the Avatar pressed him, giving quick chase. He was forced to leap clear as walls of flame relentlessly poured from the young alpha’s fists and feet. But every time he leapt, she leapt, and when he dodged, so did she. He matched her, blow for blow, but she was faster, and she was younger, and moreover, she was the _Avatar_. The flames erupting from her strikes were searing heat into the night sky, and Asami could catch the burning, crackling scent even from the ground. Korra was furious.

This was not an Avatar who was merciful, an Avatar who evaded rather than attacked, as Aang had been. No, this was the Avatar revenged, darkly murderous in her intent, and she was giving Amon’s favored Lieutenant the fight of his life. Asami clenched her fists, desperate. _Get him_ , she thought, senseless in her savage, primitive brain; _get him get him get him._

And Korra did.

The Lieutenant stumbled, knocked to his knees a few feet from the edge of the roof, and as he attempted to recover, the Avatar charged him again, this time with increased fury. She struck out with three spinning fire lances, and caught the Equalist in the chest, sending him tumbling over the edge of the arena. Asami did not see where he fell, but she did not need to: he wasn’t dead. This defeat would humble him, however, if it hadn’t already.

The Avatar stood, panting, staring over the edge after her opponent as if she wanted to follow him down and continue the assault, and her sweeping eyes caught Asami’s face, framed by her cupped hand over her eyes as she looked up into bright, metallic blue, visible through smoke and smog, hundreds of feet away. Asami felt like she could see those eyes anywhere, and they could see her, as well. The thought sent another lightning strike through her needy clit, swollen and throbbing against the scant fabric of her underwear.

She shook herself from her wanton daze, however, and remembered that she had a job to do here. She sprinted for the Satomobile, parked only meters away behind a barrier of broken, twisted wires and concrete. Bolin obligingly helped raise a bridge for her, and she rocketed over the makeshift ramp and bumped down beside the group, the tires raising smoke as she spun the wheel. As she opened the door to help the injured benders inside, her eyes couldn’t help but sweep back up to the roof of the arena, and what she saw there dropped her heart into her stomach.

The ceiling of the pro-bending arena had taken enough stress for one night and it began to shatter, dropping the Avatar through the glass as she reached helplessly upwards for the second time that night, crying out. Asami screamed, feeling worse than useless to stop anything from happening as the alpha she loved fell down, down, _down_ ….

But again, Beifong was there.

The older metal bender had been swinging up on a cable to follow the Equalists into the airship, clearly intending to take down Hiroshi, or Amon, or both, as she grimly sunk her grappling hook into the metal of the open hatch. She saw Korra fall, however, and made a split second decision, and one that Asami would be eternally grateful for; she chose to save the young alpha, instead of pursuing Amon. For the second time that night, she let loose a metal cable and caught the Avatar around the waist, letting her hold on the airship plummet away as she swung down. The chief managed to snag a handhold in the ragged open tear of the roof, on a sturdy metal beam, and she hung there, dangling Korra beneath her like a toy. The motion wrenched her shoulder from its socket and she cried out, her grip slipping as she inadvertently slammed the helpless Avatar like a sack of potatoes into the side of a beam, knocking her unconscious.

Tenzin responded before any of them could react, and the master airbender was vaulting over their heads a heartbeat later, whirling up a massive air cushion. He gently encircled the two dangling shapes, and drew them down to the street level, as the metal beam where only seconds before, Lin had been hanging, groaned and sheared away from the ceiling. Using the air cushion as if it were a bubble, Tenzin swept up the remaining benders and hovered them above the Satomobile as he climbed in beside Mako.

“Let’s go,” he offered, face tight with the effort of maintaining the air cushion, and Asami pressed the pedal to the floor with one black boot heel. She zoomed the Satomobile away from the debris like a wolf-bat out of hell, and made madly for the open strip of Sokka Avenue, where they could return to the ferry, all the while trying not to look over her shoulder at Korra’s unconscious form, draped over Tenzin and Mako’s laps. Bolin uncomfortably shifted under Beifong’s heavy metal plate, as she, too, lay in a knockout for the second time that evening.

Asami hardly paid attention to traffic or pedestrians, and the drive to the ferry building was sliced neatly in half. The guards hurriedly ushered them aboard, and, as the gate closed behind the Satomobile, she could finally spare a desperate glance back at Korra’s ashen face, laying prone in Mako’s lap. Her heart staggered between her teeth, and she swallowed, willing the Avatar with all her might to wake up…

_______________________

But it took Korra most of the night and well into the next morning to recover, and even then, she was kept in a healing trance so the water benders could do their work, repairing broken ribs and bruises along her side in a lurid pattern. Asami could hardly bear to watch, but she did so anyway, clinging to the doorframe as Mako knelt by Korra’s side, holding her hand. Part of her wanted to displace the firebender; to take the place at the alpha’s side that a mate should rightfully hold, but they hadn’t exchanged bites. For all she knew, when Korra woke up, they would be over.

The fear and anxiety from the events at the arena did not leave her, even as the day turned once more to night. She paced her room, gnawing the inside of her cheek to a bloody, ragged pulp as she went through all of her father’s tactical advantages in her mind, over and over again, battling a thousand wars at once. He could strike at any time, at any moment, and from what she had seen of the White Lotus, they were woefully underprepared. There were undoubtably moles within their ranks, and spies were a cancer unto any organizational force, militaristic or otherwise.

Asami had a strategist’s brain, and she could see there were open, gaping wounds in the island that left it ripe for take over, and the idea was maddening, threatening. Every second that ticked by, she feared the worst, and when it didn’t happen, she knew it was only more time for Hiroshi to recover, to plan. He was injured, yes, but not down, not fully. They had failed to stop him, and she knew he would be marshaling forces sooner than later, trying to strike while they assumed him the weakest. It’s what _she_ would have done, after all. That meant there was precious little time to waste.

On the dresser of her room, beside the bed, the electric glove lay in an unassuming heap where she’d tossed it. It mocked her, even from its tumbled position. Her father’s technology only reminded her of what he could unleash upon the island. Upon the Avatar. Her father would and could take anything from her. He’d done so before, and he could do so again. But this time, she realized as her hands protectively molded over her lower belly, _this_ time he would take away the only love she had in her sad, quiet life.

In the wee, grey hours that preceded the dawn, she made up her mind.

When she slid the door open, she was only half-surprised to find Korra awake. The Avatar was surely still in a fair amount of pain, healing or no healing. Having ones bones reset couldn’t be comfortable. But Korra looked relieved to see her, and her eyes cleared of discomfort like clouds parting over a sea. That tore at the omega’s heart.

“Asami-“ Korra started to get up from the bed, her robe loose and draped around her, exposing her breasts and white bandages around her midsection. The slight wince the alpha gave only strengthened Asami’s resolve. She ignored Korra and moved past her, opening the cabinet that contained the Avatar’s clothing. There were neatly folded piles of blue and brown, and she began to pull them out, tossing them onto the bed.

“What are you doing?” Korra’s voice was dazed at first, and then it hardened. “Asami, why are you flinging my clothes everywhere? What’s going on?”

The omega wasn’t listening. “Do you have a duffel bag or something?”

“Asami, cut that out.” Korra’s hand on her shoulder was firm, even if her grip was weaker than usual. “ _Talk_ to me. Why do I need my duffel bag?”

She shot a glance back into those dangerously blue eyes and squared her shoulders, speaking from her resolve. “Because you have to get back to the South Pole. Now.”

Korra sank to the bed. “The South Pole.” She repeated, slowly.

“Yes.” She followed the movement of the Avatar, and entreated her from her knees, taking hold of Korra’s calloused hands with both of her own. “Korra. You _need_ to go. My father will be coming, and he will be coming to kill you.”

“Asami, I’m-“

“-the Avatar, I know.” She finished for the incredulous alpha, wrapping her fingers more tightly around Korra’s. “But you fight fair, and you fight open, and that’s not his way. He won’t fight you fair. He’ll hurt you, in the places you can’t defend, until you’re too weak to fight anymore, and then he’ll kill you.” She looked desperately into Korra’s face, and realized belatedly that she was crying, and tears obscured her vision as she spoke, repeating herself. “He’ll _kill_ you.”

“He can try.” Korra growled, low and deep, and for a moment she wanted to believe her, to believe that her Avatar could take all comers, no matter how devious they may be…but she reminded herself of the bubbling awfulness of Hiroshi’s face. Her father would be coming for torture, for blood, and for pain. He would want to exact ten times the vengeance upon her, and the way to do that would be to hurt the Avatar. He knew that now, after she’d tipped her hand, so to speak. He knew how much she loved, and that was dangerous for them all.

“Korra.” She had to convince her, and desperation made her wild. “Korra, he knows how you’ll react, he knows that. He thinks ten moves ahead, don’t you understand? He has to hurt me now, hurt me the way I hurt him, and he knows that I-“

She stopped herself, but the damage was done, even as her jaw snapped shut with a click that hurt her teeth. Korra was looking at her strangely, in a way she’d never seen. Her eyes were blue-black, and unreadable.

“That you what, Asami?” She questioned, and her voice was thick.

 _Fuck it_. Asami thought, almost feral in her fear. _Just fuck it all. I have to save you._

“That I love you, damn it!” She half-choked, half-shouted from her knees. “He knows he can hurt me because I _love_ -“

But Korra was kissing her then, surging into her body from the bed, drawing her to her feet. A flash fire ignited in the omega’s belly, and the flames licked against her pulse, driving her to a rush of arousal and confusion and terror all in one. The alpha’s hand was gripping at the back of her neck, nails curled into her throat, and the possession of the gesture made her tears turn sweet. Korra’s mouth was hot against her own, lush like a jungle and her tongue was thrusting and parrying like a sleek blunted sword. She broke away, and Asami thought she would speak, but instead the Avatar moved her mouth over the pulse where her fingers sat, and unfurled them, hovering her teeth just above the spot that buzzed and pounded at her presence.

“I love you.” The alpha said simply, and her breath was low and rumbling with primal potency, searing Asami’s skin and making her shudder and writhe helplessly. “I love you and you’re _mine_.”

The words made her cry out against Korra, arching like her heat had come all over again. She felt the same way, impossible as it was. Her skin was singing for the touch the alpha, and the longer Korra lingered at her pulse, and the more beautiful words she spoke into the heat of their bodies, the more she wanted it, wanted the teeth to sink in.

Korra seemed to feel the same way. “Let him come,” she rasped, and her hands molded Asami more firmly to her body as she spoke. “Let him try to tear the whole island, the whole city down. I’ll end the whole world before I’ll let him take you. You’re my _mate_ , my love. _Mine_!”

And with that, the Alpha of all Alphas sank her teeth into Asami’s neck and the dizzying spirals of pleasure blackened the omega’s mind.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A window of lover’s respite in a mad, weary world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! And once again my apologies for the long absense. I could say I’ve been working and real life distractions and all that, but who really cares. The fact is, this update was a long time coming, and I took some time with it, but it’s been ready for a while now, so here it is! The grand mating scene. Hope it was worth the wait. <3

The wildfire of Korra’s touch detonated within Asami’s brain, and she was sure she was howling, screaming, as she climaxed instantly without anything touching her. Her body was slick and feverish, thighs shaking, and she clung to Korra’s strong, lean form only by some miracle as her mind went slack and primal. Instinct filled her and she forced her eyes open, seeing only Korra’s tanned, corded neck above her, and the beacon of her pulse shone bright through her skin, and it was calling to her.

She answered it, and bit down.

Korra shuddered hard against her, hands pressing against her spine, her ass, and Asami _wept_ into the mouthful of flesh her teeth had claimed, tasting time and cosmic, celestial energy as well as the leaping, sun-on-the-glaciers feeling that made up Korra’s essence. She tasted thousands of years and gods of men and monsters, ageless beings that floated inexorably through oceans, carrying the weight of eternity on their backs. She tasted the laughter of Korra’s childhood, the chubby fists of her determination, the windswept blizzard in which she found Naga. She tasted the first time Korra mastered a new element, the first time she stepped out into Republic City, the first time she’d met Asami. She tasted singsong-sweet dreams, and freedom, and gorgeous, aching _love_ that thudded into her tongue; honey-thick and consuming.

Korra was growling and weeping all in one into her neck, her teeth a sharp, perfect anchor amid the madness and elegance of it all. She could feel that the alpha was iron-hard, swelled to instant firmness against her thigh, and the erection couldn’t have been anything but painful, as thick as it was, but Korra made no move to ease herself or soothe it with rubbing. Instead, the Avatar was locked into Asami’s pulse, moaning and weeping as she drank in every ounce of essence. She had a brief moment to wonder if Korra could taste her memories in the same way that she could taste the alpha’s, but then another pulsing wave of pleasure overtook her and they rocked as one. Asami could feel herself curling around Korra’s aura, blending their gauzy colors into a brilliant red-blue-gold-white.

 _This is right_ , she kept thinking, in a slow, hazy realization. _This feels so right_. _Why didn’t I know? Oh Korra, I’ve been so_ blind…

The Avatar was moving her to the bed, shifting her, insistently pressing her down, and she was eager to assist, sinking back and reclining, but she hung on to her mate, unwilling to release the irresistible pull of the mark and her teeth. Korra growled frustratedly into her hold as she met the resistance of Asami’s clothes, her hands sweeping restlessly over her body, and the omega had a second of awareness before the Avatar shredded them, destroying fine Fire Nation linens and the best of Republic City’s tailoring in one savage stroke of fire that danced along her skin without burning her. She was naked then, gloriously and deliciously, and she rubbed herself wanton against the smooth bunching muscles of her mate’s body as Korra distractedly shrugged free of her robe. Every second that they weren’t touching in skin-to-skin contact felt like agony, and the relief of having Korra press every inch of her warmth along the omega’s inflamed skin made her mind self-destruct.

Finally, unbearably soon, they had to wrench their mouths away, breathing heavily as one, foreheads pressed together. The mark throbbed and pulsed, and Asami’s whole body felt like it was connected to that circle where Korra’s teeth had left their deep, rusty imprint. Korra was breathing raggedly, and she was crying, soft silvery tears that dropped onto Asami’s face.

“I love you. So much.” She whispered, and Asami surged up to kiss her, to drink from the salt staining her lips. She pulled at Korra’s hips, insensately. She didn’t want to hear words of love, she wanted to feel it. The alpha wasn’t inside her and that was a crime, a vicious, horrible crime every second that it was perpetrated longer. She rocked under Korra, tilting her pelvis, and the alpha’s significant length dragged against her slick folds, making them both moan.

Her mate finally caught the plot, and she stilled Asami with an instinctive, growling nip to the mark on her throat, while her shaking hands guided the pulsating heat of her shaft to press against the omega’s anxiously grasping entrance. Asami almost lost consciousness at the anticipatory pleasure of it, the way the wide, flared head caught against her inner muscles. She moaned, low and deep, and pulled her alpha into her with a shuddering, jarring thrust. They both cried out.

“Damn it, _damn_ it,” Asami wept. She didn’t know why she was cursing, or why she was crying, but she was helpless to stop either impulse. “I wanted you for so long, wanted to be yours…” Her words rolled into another moan as Korra buried the last few inches, bottoming out against her swollen cervix.

“You’re _mine_.” Korra promised hotly, words panting against the throbbing flesh of the mark on Asami’s neck. She worried the bite again, sending a shiver through their joined bodies. “Mine, all mine.” She groaned, again. “My mate, _ohhhh_ …. my Asami.”

The motion began then, and swallowed both of their words. Irresistible, feverish motion. Korra was pumping, and her cock was wet, and the slapping noise of it was driving Asami wild at the sheer eroticism, the primal shamelessness of how she felt. Her body welcomed her chosen alpha, welcomed her slamming, driving thrusts, opening wide for more intrusion into her sensitive depths. Her heels dug into Korra’s finely muscled ass, and the spurring only encouraged the alpha’s instincts, which in turn brought the base of her shaft bumping against Asami’s receptive, aching clit.

The sheets below them tangled into sweaty bunches, and the blankets tumbled to the floor, but the pair wasn’t distracted. Korra had resumed her hold, as if she couldn’t bear to leave the mark alone, and Asami would’ve liked to do the same, but she was held down by the force of the Avatar’s body, her rampant thrusting, and her insides sang with the possessive dominance of it. She didn’t need to reinforce the bite anyway; she could see from the reddened flesh on Korra’s sweat-streaked neck that her mark was throbbing right along with the one Korra had made, driving the alpha on. Every jarring, rocketing movement of her alpha’s body connecting with her flesh made her clit sob at the pressure, and she couldn’t focus on anything but the sweet roughness of it, the brutality of Korra’s love. She clawed at the alpha’s back, leaving red slashing marks in her lust.

The bed rocked and swayed, as Korra alternated between long, deep slides and quick, jabbing jerks, bringing the head of her thick, rippling cock against the swelling ridge on the front wall of Asami’s overstimulated pussy, and it was steadily driving the omega insane. She was sobbing, grasping, whimpering at the pressure and the stretch, and the wet scandalous slaps of Korra’s base against her clit, and her noises seemed to egg the Avatar into a frenzy, like a shark scenting blood. Her alpha was grunting, growling, snorting like a beast in response to sweet omega submission, and it only agitated both of them more, bodies drawn inexorably toward their joining.

Asami clung to Korra with her legs around her waist and her nails buried in the silken-strong muscles of her back. The Avatar was holding them both up by the strength of her hands, flat on the bed, and her ass was clenched with effort as she thudded into Asami like a freight train. Musky-sweet rivers of the omega’s arousal ran down between their joined bodies, and mingled with the copious streams of pre-come pumping from the alpha’s straining tip. Their thighs were slick with it, and the bed below them was gaining a sizable puddle, but Asami only wanted more. She wanted to be filled, and she clutched desperately, rocking her hips without being able to give voice to her need.

Against her entrance, she felt a swelling, pulsating feeling that she hadn’t felt since her heat, and her body instinctively began to flutter open even before she realized what was happening. Korra was knotting, somehow, even without a heat or a rut to trigger it. She was wide-eyed in wonder below her alpha, and, as the bulge rubbed against her, Korra’s eyes met hers in equal surprise. She’d heard of alphas knotting during a mating bite out of heat, but since so many couples tended to exchange bites during the passionate throes heat or a rut, the actuality of it was rare. Some took it is a sign of true love, true bond…deeper than the bites exchanged in a hormonal surge could signify. Asami didn’t believe those stories, nominally, but in this instance….with Korra panting down at her, blue eyes soft and round, neck ragged from her mark, knot throbbing firmly against her entrance…she felt she could believe them now. She threaded the fingers of one hand through Korra’s soft brown hair, and let it tumble free from the ponytails.

“Please,” she whispered, and her fingers stroked against Korra’s neck. She didn’t need to say more, but she did. “I love you, Korra.”

The woman she loved closed her eyes and pulled her fingers to her mouth to kiss them. When she opened them again, Korra’s blue eyes were dark with tears. She leaned down, and pressed her forehead against Asami’s, and they each released a sigh as the motion began the process of sinking Korra’s knot inside. The omega gave a needy whine and her hips jarred forward, allowing the swelling ridges to nuzzle inside of her willing body, and soon, with a sucking pop, they were joined fully.

Korra couldn’t hold back, and Asami didn’t want her too. She dug in her heels and her nails in encouragement as her alpha howled and slammed the knot inside her walls, rocking it back and forth as she rutted mindlessly, lost in her normally-dormant instincts. The drag of the engorged base inside of her was too much for Asami, and she began to quake, shuddering with slips of heat every time Korra’s chiseled granite abs slapped against her clit or the knot rolled against her swollen spot inside.

“Korra, oh _Korra_ , I’m-“ She wailed, arching as her inner walls began their inexorable grasping.

“Come with me.” Korra peppered her lips with kisses and snuck one hand between their bodies, swiping her fingers over Asami’s reddened, aching clit one final time, and that did it. She came, screaming her release into the night air of the open window as Korra stiffened above her and gave one final savage thrust of her hips, emptying inside of her omega with hot, spurting jets.

The orgasm was shared between them like a gasping breath of air, and it went on and on like a tidal wave. Korra’s knot kept their shared essence from splashing out to join the dampness on the sheets, but it was a near thing. Her cock was jerking, erupting an ocean of come into Asami, who strained and quivered and gasped to take it all, feeling her belly tent with the potent force of it. The unexpected knot and the passion of the mating bite had increased the normal volume of her ejaculate to at least tenfold, and the omega groaned below her alpha, shaking as Korra continued to release, her own climax continuing in an endless loop provoked by the alpha’s swirling pheromones and the warm pulses of her come.

  
The room was filled with the hazy, sublime scent of sex, and the fragrant blend lulled Asami into a stupor. It was a long, long time before she could gather herself, moaning slowly as she stretched what little movement she could under the weight of Korra’s body. The tie kept her firmly locked at the waist, but that was fine, she didn’t want to move. She ran her mouth possessively over the mark on Korra’s neck and sighed. Her doubts, her fears, her worries had evaporated with the mating bite and the subsequent knotting. Korra was hers now, damn the consequences, and she was Korra’s. Whatever came, they would face it together or not at all.

As if in response, Korra’s hands tightened protectively around her waist and her body crouched over Asami’s, letting out a low growl. “Mine.” She promised, again, and her voice was crackling with alpha instinct. “I’ll never let him hurt you again.”

Asami ignored that. Her father could and would hurt her, again and again, and that didn’t matter. What mattered was protecting Korra from seeing it, or being caught in the crossfire. She palmed her lover’s sweat-soaked hair, soothing. “I’m safe, I’m right here. It’s okay.”

But Korra wasn’t mollified. She only clutched Asami tighter. “I won’t let him take you.”

“Korra, no one is taking me anywhere.” Asami shushed her, increasing her stroking with both hands. “I’m right here.”

“I had dreams.” Korra confessed into her neck, breath hot against her skin. “While I was unconscious. Bad dreams. He _took_ you from me.”

The words sent a shiver through Asami’s body. She didn’t know if Avatars had prophetic dreams, but it seemed probable. She continued her gentle ministrations to Korra’s back and sides, considering the possibilities. She didn’t have long though, because Korra was rolling her hips again, jarring the firmness of the knot inside her, and her possessive alpha was growling as if she didn’t know how to stop. Her eyes were blue-black and glazed, searing with natural instinct and the cock inside of Asami was burning hot and throbbing like molten rock.

“He _can’t_ have you.” Each growl was punctuated with a fierce worrying of the bite, making the omega’s insides sing in savage, primal response. “He can’t hurt you. I’d die before I let that happen…I’d see the world burn to the ground before I gave you up. Not an inch of you. You’re mine. _Mine_.”

“Korra-“ Asami tried to gently protest but a wave of pheromones stiffened her and she gasped, her pupils blown, and her hips shifted back instinctively. “ _Ohhhh_ …I’m…. I’m yours. I’m all yours, Korra.”

“Yess…” The Avatar hissed encouragement, drawing the omega’s pale, pliant legs back up in a bent-bow position to allow her to sink ever-deeper, impossibly stretching Asami in ways that she was sure she would never stop feeling, even when Korra eventually withdrew. But that wasn’t happening any time soon and she didn’t want it, couldn’t want it. She grabbed at Korra, pulling her closer, and moaned heartily as the knot rocked inside her walls.

The night around them sang with jasmine flowers expanding and the harvest moon hung low and full as a promise, even as the Equalists planned and Hiroshi raged. But for this golden, star-blessed moment, in the silence and the sweetness of a warm autumn night, the world stilled to allow this. The keening of Asami’s wails and the answering cries of Korra’s passion made the night pause, and the world felt the shuddering, glorious pulse of the Avatar’s pleasure. All around the city, old couples turned to each other in warmth, some for the first time in decades, and new couples found themselves inflamed, chasing the rampant anxiety of desire. The countryside rocked and moaned, thick with love and lust, and for long hours there was no crime, no violence at all for miles around Republic City, as the air pulsed and quivered like a heart.

The Avatar had found her mate, at long last, and for one star-fallen night, the world rejoiced with her.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra makes some decisions as an alpha, and as a new mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Long time no update, I know, but it’s the holidays, and the craze is real. I’m keeping up with this project, I promise, and it’s top priority amid my current series, so never fear! Though the cliffhangers continue (love em, I’m awful) this series isn’t over yet. 
> 
> Not til the happy ending damn it. ;)

Every muscle in Korra’s well-appointed body sagged with contentment. The morning was dawning slow, grey breaking in streaks to allow the dusky pink to shine through, but her limbs were still and heavy below the blankets. Instead of moving, she caressed the warmth of her omega, curled into her chest, stroking the sleek raven’s wing of black hair that spilled across her throat. Asami was still deeply asleep, and she felt absurdly calm beneath the slight weight of her, as if the world was at peace as long as her mate lay on her chest and breathed so sweetly.

_Her mate._

The words fell into her brain like snowfall and she welcomed their impact, smiling blissfully down at the woman in her arms. The mark was there, reddened and obvious at Asami’s neck, and when she brushed the hair away from it, she could see the ring of her teeth, the beginnings of the scar. Her own neck throbbed in sympathy, but it was a pleasant ache, a sweet reminder. They had made love as a pair for the first time last night, and the memory of it was almost too perfect to bear. She leaned her neck down to nuzzle the mark with her lips, lovingly rubbing against the new scar with supreme happiness. Asami moaned in her sleep and sniffed, her lips curling into a drowsy smile as Korra’s alpha scent welcomed her. Green eyes open in slow, soft blinks and Korra couldn’t help how she melted in response.

“Morning,” she offered, her voice croaking in the still light, but Asami seemed to warm to her tone, as crackling as it was.

“Morning,” the omega agreed, sleepily, and tugged at Korra’s arms until they wrapped once more around her slim frame. The alpha’s heart sang with love, even as her green-eyed mate lifted her chin to gaze into her eyes. “When did we fall asleep?”

“I’m not sure,” Korra rumbled in response. “Not too long ago.” She stretched, feeling her muscles twinge with a pleasant ache, and found herself drawn into the omega’s eyes once more. “You look so beautiful right now.”

Asami laughed, and it was a joyous, tinkling sound, even as she playfully struck Korra in the chest with a hand that weighed no more than a feather. “Stop flattering me, I need breakfast before I’m beautiful.”

Korra strongly disagreed with the second part of that statement, but she recognized the truth of the first as her stomach gurgled. She sighed, letting the omega slip from her arms, but let out a low whistle as she appreciated the sight of Asami’s naked body making for her robe by the door. “Nope, still beautiful. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

A robe sailed past Korra’s ear and draped across her face. From under the silk, she heard Asami admonish her fondly: “Get dressed, you idiot.”

The breakfast they shared was a simple one, and a hasty concoction, as they had to quickly and quietly use the kitchen before anyone else in the temple was awake. Giggling and tripping over their robes, they rushed back to the room to feed each other, shushing each other wildly like schoolchildren as they passed through the hallway. Once inside, Asami let her honeyed fingers drip into Korra’s mouth, feeding her bits of porridge from a bowl that they soon abandoned, making love again as the fullness of the morning made the birdsong echo with Asami’s wanton cries.

Korra didn’t want to let her go for a single second. She buried her face in Asami’s neck, panting, as her body jerked the last of her release into her omega’s welcoming folds, but there was a frantic driving need to be closer, to get deeper, to be as together as it was possible to be. She couldn’t shake the feeling she’d had the night before; about her dreams and what Hiroshi might do to Asami in revenge for her actions at the arena. Fear tore tiny ragged edges around her heart, and she fidgeted, drawing her breath again and again against the mark, taking some brief solace in how her mate trembled and whimpered against her when she did so. Asami didn’t seem to mind her staying inside, but she did stroke Korra’s hair and whisper soft words of love against her ear, trying to help her calm down, to little effect.

Something in Korra was worried and deeply so.

She’d never had the threat of anyone taking anything she loved this much before. All of a sudden the idea of Amon and the fear of what he could do to her Avatar abilities seemed small, inconsequential. Asami’s life, her precious body and her fantastic mind, was worth _so_ much more than Korra’s bending. She needed to face him, to face Hiroshi, and get them taken care of before they could hurt her mate again. The alpha inside of her was roaring, and had been ever since she sank her teeth into Asami’s neck, to protect her mate at all costs, to rise when the time was right and rain fury upon those who would do her harm. _Well_. That time was drawing closer, and she felt it, jaggedly reminding her with each thump of her worried heart.

Her mate sensed her distress, stretching beneath her as Korra’s cock slipped from her puffy, swollen lower lips in a tide of their shared wetness. She stroked and nuzzled at the mark on the Avatar’s tense neck, and, when Korra still trembled above her, sick with worry, the omega began purring, trying to soothe her alpha by instinct. When the sweet noise made its winding way through Korra’s bones, she felt instantly at ease, and joined Asami with her own rumbling, unpracticed purr. The noise was awkward, but it none the less comforted her omega, which comforted her in return. They lay still for a while, echoing back and forth, until the rocking became more insistent. Hungry need began to awaken in Asami’s body again, and she moaned and arched below Korra, enticing her shaft to extend once more.

The alpha set her teeth against the mark, eliciting a slow roll from Asami’s hips, and held her omega still so she could enter her again, this time drawing a gasp from them both at the sensitivity. They’d been making love nonstop for the better part of eighteen hours now, after all, and even the Avatar’s legendary stamina was beginning to flag. Still, she slid back inside, hissing at how right it felt, and groaned against the sweetly thudding pulse in Asami’s neck as her omega’s walls rippled and fluttered around her length, adjusting once more.

She’d intended to be gentle, sensing that Asami must be worn out from the night they’d had, but her mate seemed to have no such reservations. She dug her nails into Korra’s shoulder and her heels into the bunching muscles of her ass, driving her on, and whispered lascivious encouragement into the alpha’s ear, thudding with the heat of her pulse.

“That’s it, yes Korra, yes. Fill me up, my love. Make me yours... _ah_ -!”

Korra was groaning and grunting with the words, and her hips responded accordingly, picking up the pace as the wet rock and glide of their bodies filled the room with the sounds of sex. Her base was slapping against the omega’s swollen, reddened clit, and the slight pressure was enough. Asami’s words terminated in a low cry, and she arched below Korra, trembling and offering her neck once more. The Avatar couldn’t resist, and her teeth sunk back into the mark she’d made the night before, moaning incoherently into Asami’s pale throat as she rocked and shuddered against her.

The orgasm flooded both of their senses with brilliant white light, and her omega slumped below her, clearly exhausted beyond reason. That was okay. Korra nuzzled Asami’s pulse and crooned, softly, as her mate’s eyelids fluttered and she finally, blissfully closed them in sleep. Her cock throbbed, releasing the last few pulses of her seed, and her body felt drained, emptied utterly. As thorough as her orgasm was, Korra badly needed sleep too, but instead, she slipped from her mate, already softening without a knot to hold her in place, and rained kisses upon Asami’s sleeping face. The omega moaned and turned over, spilling Korra’s come from between her thighs, but she didn’t wake, and for that the Avatar was grateful.

She _needed_ to do something, and Asami _couldn’t_ be awake for it.

The omega would not thank her for what she was about to do, but that couldn’t be helped, and nor could the pang in her heart at leaving her sleeping mate behind, with their bond so new. Every muscle, fiber and sinew screamed at her to not leave her mate alone, but there was something stronger driving her. She had a duty to Asami, as her alpha as well as her Avatar, and she had to see it through.

Keeping Asami safe was the only way.

Korra darted through the morning fog in the temple until she found what she was looking for; Lin Beifong doing her exercises in the courtyard of the main house, metal striking rock with a mechanical ringing sound.

“Chief!” She hailed, not wanting to disturb the metalbender and receive a whip to the face for her trouble. “I wanted to come thank you for saving me.”

The taciturn metalbender stopped to wipe a sheen of sweat from her brow with a bandaged wrist. “It’s about time.” She cast a knowing raised brow at the Avatar. “Thought you’d be too lost in mate-brain to come pay your respects.”

Korra coughed, guiltily. “I’m sorry, but that’s actually the real reason I’m here.” She took a breath. “Asami and I are mates, as I’m sure everyone knows by now-“

“Kid, the entire city knows by now.” Lin snorted. “You weren’t exactly quiet.”

“-and because she’s my mate, I’m more concerned about what her father will do to her than I am for what he’ll do to me.” Korra soldiered on, blistering under the older alpha’s embarrassing frankness. The seriousness of words seemed to quiet Beifong though, and she only nodded brusquely for Korra to continue, which she did.

“Hiroshi knows Asami is with me now, and that will make him more angry than ever. I’m hoping anger will make him stupid. If Mako and I can draw Amon’s forces, maybe we can capture him or that _bastard_ Lieutenant while they’re focused on getting to Asami, thinking that she’s with me.”

The Avatar stepped closer to the metalbender, and her voice was urgent. For the first time in her life, as she broadcasted her alpha pheromones to help Lin understand her plight, there was an undercurrent of fear. “I can’t have Asami with me, though. I _can’t_ put her in danger, Chief. I need you to stay here, and guard her, and keep her on the island, so that I can take care of this. Will you do that for me?”

Beifong’s expression was unreadable, but her eyes were knowing. “I understand, Avatar. Yes. I’ll guard your mate with my life.”

“Good.” Korra cleared her throat, feeling helpless. She didn’t know what to say, and the seriousness of what she’d asked of Lin was discomfiting her to no end. She turned to go, but the metalbender’s hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder.

“Your omega is one of the more capable non-benders I’ve ever met, Avatar. Won’t she resent you putting her in guard so you can put yourself in danger to protect her?”

Beifong had a point, and Korra knew it, and it pained her even more than the driving desperation to be back in bed with her sleeping mate. Asami would hate what she was doing; might even not forgive her for it. But it had to be done.

Korra squared her shoulders. All her life she’d been told she was The Alpha, the Avatar, the protector. She’d never truly understood or been interested enough to take up that mantle…until now. Asami made her want to be an alpha, a true alpha, and….Well, this was what being an alpha meant. At least, she thought so.

“She will, but that doesn’t matter.” She told Beifong, in as strong a voice as she could manage. “She’s my mate, and I have to protect her from her father. She shouldn’t have to fight him anymore. She’s done enough.” And while that was certainly true, she didn’t feel as much conviction as she’d hoped. She squared her shoulders again, and drew herself up to her full height, which, admittedly wasn’t much. “I have to do this without her, Chief.”

Thankfully, the metalbender made no further comment. She only nodded, severely, and gave Korra a salute. The gesture touched and surprised the Avatar, who returned it with a faltering hand. She couldn’t remember ever seeing the Chief salute anyone, and the honor of it was almost staggering to the young alpha. She shook herself, and headed off in the direction of the men’s dormitories to rustle up Bolin and Mako.

***

Bolin and Mako, however were not so easy to rustle up. “I _still_ think this is a stupid idea.” Bolin reiterated for the fifth time, as he clung glumly to Naga’s saddle.

“For once, bro, I think you may be right.” Mako conceded, and turned to Korra with a grimace, his teeth chattering as the freezing water hit his legs. They were headed into the bay, toward the city, and Korra had neglected to deploy a water-bending shield. She threw up one now, tossing Mako a guilty smile, and he rolled his eyes as a measure of gratitude, before returning to his usual serious expression.

“Are you _sure_ we shouldn’t go get Asami?” He asked, worriedly. “She’s not going to like this, Korra.”

The young alpha clenched her jaw firmly. “No. We do this quick and quiet and hopefully she never knows…or gets to yell at me all afternoon. Either way, she’s my mate, and this is my call.”

The brothers exchanged glances behind the Avatar’s back, but she ignored them, leaning over Naga’s bouncing shoulders. Their reaction to the mark on Korra’s neck had been mostly welcome, coupled with appreciative hooting, and of course, some mild ribbing about the scent and sound from the mating, but to hear Korra speak of Asami as her mate with such seriousness must be bringing reality to the fore, because Mako leaned over her shoulder again.

“Mates make decisions together, Korra.” He prodded her, gently. “And we both know Asami doesn’t like having decisions made for her.”

That brought a painful lurch through her gullet as she thought of Hiroshi, the man she now hated, and how Asami might find their actions comparable, similar even. She banished that unwilling thought with a resolved swallow and shook her head once more.

“Mako, enough.” She said firmly, and then softened her tone as she tossed a look over Naga’s bunching forequarters. “Asami can hate me for this all she wants, and Tenzin can wring his hands…but the fact is, it’s my job as the Avatar to bring Amon down. I haven’t been doing my job.”

She narrowed her eyes at the city lights, drawing ever closer as the polar bear dog came galloping up the beach. “Today we go right to his den and challenge him ourselves.”

Bolin gave a low cheer, but quickly quieted as Naga thundered into the warm glow of the city streetlamps. The streets were eerily quiet, with not a single person, bender or otherwise, bustling about. That was a bad sign. She and Mako exchanged worried looks, and Korra bent over Naga’s neck, urging her forward.

“We should go to city hall first. Tarrlok will have the task force and it’d be nice to have some back up right now.” Korra suggested over her shoulder. She didn’t mention that she’d all but abandoned Tarrlok’s sham of a task force as soon as Asami’s heat had consumed her, but hopefully the slimy waterbender could understand. He was a fellow alpha, after all, no matter how he galled her, and Tenzin often complained that he was making liberal use of his rut leave. She shuddered at the image, but still…alphas understood one another on these matters.

The grand visage of the city hall building wasn’t hard to find, and Naga soon had them rumbling up the courtyard steps. Korra cast a quick look around, expecting to be chastened by a courier or a secretary, but instead there was no one, and the building was warm, well-lit and eerily silent. “No one’s here.” She commented to Mako. “Something doesn’t smell right.”

He nodded grimly. “Be on your guard. This has ‘trap’ written all over it.”

 _Spirits, I hope not,_ Korra prayed silently as they made their way up the grand staircase, dismounting from Naga at the landing. _Don’t let me get trapped like an idiot while I’m trying to ease Asami’s mind and keep her safe._ All of her thoughts left her in a sucking rush, however, as they turned a corner to the Water Tribe council member’s office, and saw Tarrlok bound and clearly beaten, his head lolling against a pillar.

“ _Tarrlok_?” She asked in disbelief, as the bending brothers fanned out protectively behind her, hands raised in ready stance.

“Avatar.” The waterbender regarded her with a swollen eye, and then hawked and spat blood. “My brother knew you’d come.”

“Brother?” Korra crinkled her nose in confusion. She turned to Mako. “Do you know anything about-“

“He doesn’t. Only I do.” The waterbender flexed under his bonds. “I’ll tell you the whole story if you promise to let me out.”

Korra met eyes with Bolin and Mako. They nodded, sharply, as one. This was their only option. Korra sighed. “Okay. Begin.”

***  
Tarrlok’s voice droned on and on, explaining his past, his father Yakone, and the history he had in Republic City, as well as his brother, Noatuk, the pride of the family’s bloodbending legacy. His eyes were measured, but his voice never dropped the pain from its register. Mako brought him water, and to their surprise, he tried no tricks but merely accepted the water jug to his lips, meek as lamb, before continuing.

The whole time, Korra paced. She paced back and forth in front of Tarrlok as he spoke, and gnashed her teeth, thinking dark, vengeful thoughts toward long-gone Yakone and so-called ‘Noatuk’. Although she was appreciative of the intel, her mind also raced back to Asami at any given moment, feeling her anxiety soar as the minutes passed. Why was she feeling so worried? She was here, on the trail of Amon, about to crack the case. So why was heart heart racing with the fevered impulse to run as fas as she possibly could back to the island, to her mate?

“I don’t understand, Tarrlok.” She offered when the council member finished, his battered sides wheezing with effort, and she tried to keep the impatience out of her voice without much success. “You’re his brother. Distance or no distance. So why did Noatuk beat you and leave you here to die?”

At that however, the waterbender‘s thin lips curled into an oily smile, and her heart dropped out of her chest. Before he even spoke, she knew what he was going to say.

“Oh he didn’t. This was just a ruse to get you to spend as much time as possible listening to me ramble on and on, and stay off the island so Hiroshi can take his daughter back while you play the hero.”

Korra’s frantic heartbeat flatlined.

Bolin and Mako began shouting, surging forward, but she couldn’t hear them. Her face was white as ghost and words were echoing in her mind, words from all sources.

_….he’s ten steps ahead of you, all the time….that’s how he thinks, Korra…Mates make decisions together, Korra…Korra…Korra-_

“Korra!” Bolin yelled, and she dodged, dumbstruck, as a sheer plane of ice sliced past one of her braids, severing it and leaving her with a nasty slice across one cheek. Tarrlok was drawing the water out of the drinking jug that Mako had offered him just moments before, arming himself for another blow as he got slowly to his feet, and Korra could see now as he wiped his face clean: the blood and bruising was just makeup, just trickery. She _roared_ in fury, and armed herself in flame. 

“That’s right Avatar,” Tarrlok taunted, slamming an ice barricade between her and her two friends, catching Mako’s fists right as he was about to ignite them in fire. Bolin cried out and Mako struggled, but they were caught. Tarrlok snarled in triumph and tightened the barricade, drawing the brothers together in an uncomfortable embrace. Korra charged forward, intending to free them, but the water bender challenged her, his finger rising to the floor-ceiling windows, through which the island could be seen.

“Look!” Tarrlok crowed, a vicious note of victory in his smug voice. “There goes your precious blood royal now.”

Korra turned, with a sickening lump her throat, and saw the airships, a dozen of them, bearing down on the island, all stamped with the insignia of the Equalists.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Air Temple comes under attack from Amon’s forces and Asami is forced to make a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see huh? Sorry everyone, damn, it’s been a few months since the last update and I apologize. 
> 
> Nothing supremely unique happened: just the same stuff I’m sure everyone here struggles with or can relate too. Seasonal depression, lack of imagination, too many projects juggling, writer’s block. But I’m back, damn it! And this story is nearing a close! We’re three or so chapters away from the finale, so THANK YOU for sticking around long enough to see it through with me. Much, much love. <3

_Something’s wrong._

Asami knew it even before she was fully awake. Her eyes opened on the lengthening shadows of afternoon, not morning, but the temple was still far too quiet. Eerily so. There was no busybodied chatter or squeaks from the lemurs. She could hear the bison lowing in their stables, but the sound was alarmed, not contented, and instead of orange blossom and peach tree scents, Asami thought she could smell smoke. _Something’s wrong_ , she thought again, instinctively, and reached for her mate.

The blind panic she felt when her fingers grasped on empty air was something she’d never known. Her primal senses lifted every hair on her arms and she fought the urge to vomit as fear took her heart in a sudden rush. “Korra?” She called out, swiftly drawing a robe around herself as she nearly leapt from the bed. “Korra?”

 _Calm down_ , she tried to reason with herself as she rushed through the Avatar’s suite of rooms, pulling open the door to the bathroom. But Korra wasn’t there, wasn’t smiling up at her from the tiled bench in the shower or relaxing with her feet up in the sauna. Asami circled back to their room, and dressed herself in a haphazard sort of way, ignoring her makeup as she rushed through her daily ablutions, mind focused on one thing. She pulled open the shutters to the windows and called for Naga, again and again, but there was no response; no thundering patter of paws and an answering wet lick. Panic and bile rose in her throat and she whirled around, intent on searching the rest of the temple.

 _Where are you?_ She called out with her pheromones, fighting panic as she sought for Korra’s answering scent with nostrils flared. _Korra, answer me, damn you!_

But the only alpha scent she could find was Lin Beifong’s, a stone grey wall standing grimly before her in the hallway when she pulled the door open. Asami took a step back, surprised, but the resolute expression on Lin’s face made her stomach turn.

“Sato.” Beifong’s eyes were sad and kind, even if her taciturn mouth didn’t lift in recognition. “I thought you’d be up by now.”

“Where’s Korra?” Asami ignored her, eyes searching up and down the hall. All of her instincts were screaming and the hairs on her body rejected anything but her own alpha, her own mate. She bulled into Beifong’s personal space, forcing the antisocial metalbender to take a hurried few steps back, but Lin put a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her chin to pained, patient eyes of iron-grey and realization swept through Asami’s shivering form.

Beifong sighed, and the omega knew then exactly what had happened. Her heart gave a wrenching thump. “Tell me she didn’t.”

“Oh she did.” The metalbender confirmed, and Asami gave a soft cry, strangled in her throat.

“ _No_ …”

Beifong favored her with an apologetic shrug, but avoided her eyes. “She left a few hours ago, saying she needed to bring the fight to Amon. I told her you wouldn’t be a fan of the idea, but…” She gave a dismissive snort. “ _You_ try talking to a newly-mated Avatar with her blood up. She wasn’t having much of it.”

“My father-“

“-Will have already thought of this, yes.” Lin’s mouth set in a thin line. “I’m aware. The White Lotus have been infiltrated, that’s for sure; there’s no sign of them since this morning. I suspect a coup. I sent the acolytes away, and Tenzin’s prepping his family to leave now….Things are going to get interesting here.”

“The bison are upset.” Asami looked out the window. “Something’s not right.” She felt distant, far away. Fear had left her limbs, and now there was only a distinct sort of sadness. _Oh Korra,_ she thought _, you brave, stupid fool….he’s coming here. He was always coming here. Don’t you see?_ She shook her head, distractedly, and felt a patter of tears land on her cheeks.

“Tenzin says they sense stress easily.” The hand on her shoulder tightened, and she looked down. Beifong’s grip was harsh. “Asami. You need to come with me. The Avatar asked me to protect you…and I mean to do so.”

She could see the seriousness in the older woman’s eyes, and could hear it in the sparse use of her name. Toph’s daughter may not yet respect the Avatar on a personal level, but in this, she was showing her deference to Korra, and her strict adherence to a deep inner code that she took to heart more firmly than any law of Republic City. Asami knew she wouldn’t be swayed from her duty. Whether Korra knew it or not, she’d committed Lin to defend Asami until her death.

 _Korra, when I see you next, we’re going to have a very firm talk about that_ , she promised herself, ignoring the clench in her heart over whether that conversation would ever get to happen. There was no use in arguing, however. She swallowed, and nodded silently, sliding the door closed.

Lin led her from the hall, cautiously peering around every corner before motioning her to follow. The quiet was unnerving: normally these halls would be filled with acolytes and guards, rushing around, completing their daily tasks, snagging bits of breakfast rolls, talking, chatting, filling the air with the agreeable noise of the day. The silence in its stead was a thick blanket of deadened air, and it was stifling, oppressive. Every nerve on Asami’s body tingled in alarm, but she kept close to the older alpha, following her deeply-ingrained omega instinct to stay behind the more dominant woman in times of crisis.

“I need to go to my room.” She told Lin in a low, urgent voice. “My glove. My father’s technology might be more useful to us than we know.”

The alpha nodded sharply. “Agreed. I saw firsthand what those chi-blockers can do with a glove like that.” The older woman caught Asami’s guilty look and waved it away. “Quit that. Use it against him when the time comes, that’s all I care about.”

The Sato heiress smiled grimly, remembering in a rush of mixed anguish and victory the look on her fathers face when she drove the sizzling, blue-crackling glove into his eye. “That won’t be a problem.”

She found the glove where she’d left it, on her nightstand. The small circle in the center hummed with power as she slid it on; it seemed the device only needed time to recharge. It was fully fired now. Once again, a brief and unwelcome flicker of admiration entered her mind. Her father’s design was nearly flawless. She could see little to improve upon….except perhaps the range and pressure points of the shock. She could certainly tweak that, yes. A few wires here, an extra conducting rod along each finger….yes….she could do wonders with a few modifications.

A terrible and sudden groaning shook the ceiling of the temple, and ejected her from her engineering musings with a shock. Tile and plaster rained down from above, and a terrific boom echoed out across the bay, sending the bison into panicked lowing once more.

“What was that?” She yelled over the noise, but Lin was already dragging her from the room, eyes set and mouth determined.

“They’re here. We’ve got to get to Tenzin.”

Lin jettisoned a flying cable from her forearm and grabbed Asami roughly to her side. The cable caught hold of something in the swirling dust of plaster; a chi-blocker. The uniformed assailant came tumbling into view, hooked onto the cable, and the disoriented man gaped at them for a moment before attempting to rally his attack, kicking his legs out. But Beifong had reached him in two even strides and caught him in the side of the head with a metal baton, striking a savage blow. The chi-blocker’s eyes rolled white and he slumped, no longer kicking. Lin motioned brusquely at Asami and they moved into the dust, silently, crouched in ready positions.

The world was a blur. Dust and ash stung her eyes and choked her nose, but Asami kept her head down, and the glove crackled on her hand, wires dancing with blue light. Every few feet Lin would stop, narrow her eyes, and send the cable flying out again. Sometimes it would come back empty, but more often than not, a chi-blocker in an Equalist uniform would be dragged out of the dust cloud by an ankle or a forelimb, and Asami would put her glove to work. Together, bender and non-bender moved as a silent, deadly unit through the debris, avoiding clouds of deeper fog caused by smoke canisters.

A noise to Asami’s left startled her, and a chi-blocker appeared from nowhere, his hand outstretched and his glove within searing inches of her face. She stumbled back, and parried instinctively, slamming her glove up, but he deflected easily and was pressing his advantage, pushing her back and away from Lin, who cried out in alarm. The bender shot a cable towards the chi-blocker’s ankles, but her aim veered as a second attacker rose to meet her in the gloom.

“Stay away from my dad’s ex-girlfriend!” A tiny, furious voice rose in the chaos, and a massive wind lifted the swirling dust, revealing Jinora with her hands clasped together, brow clenched.

Ikki appeared on an air scooter, howling in glee as she knocked down the first Equalist,. “Leave Asami alone! She’s our friend!”

“And stay off our island!” Meelo roared, red-faced and snot-nosed but puffing out extensive jets of air from every orifice. Asami winced in both amusement and mild disgust, but his technique was effective: the jet of air he…. _propelled_ had blasted both chi-blockers over the edge of the debris pile and they tumbled out of sight.

“Kids!” Lin was flustered. Children made her lose all of her cool in a rapid, draining fashion that would be hilarious to watch if the situation wasn’t so precarious. “What are you doing? Get back inside!”

“Mom and Dad are getting supplies in the Air Temple!” Jinora explained, eyes wide and frightened. “We came looking for help, but the White Lotus are all gone.”

“The island is under attack,” Asami explained. She couldn’t help a guilty flex in her facial muscles as she tried to put on a brave smile for the kids. “They’ve come for me, I’m afraid.”

Meelo puffed up, displaying his fists and searching the rubble with his eyes in a way that made her heart ache with affection. “They’ll have to get through me, beautiful lady.”

“I know, you’re very brave,” she told him solemnly, “but for right now, we should get to your dad and mom.”

“Agreed.” Lin said, shortly, as she attempted to pry Ikki off of one armored leg. “Does this thing come with a release button?”

“Ikki, leave Chief Beifong alone,” Jinora said, primly. She was investigating the skies, her young eyes sharp and alert. “Looks like the airship is coming back for another pass.”

“They want to batter us, make us disoriented.” The metal bender commented, as Ikki released her leg. She came to stand beside Jinora and Asami, looking at the airship as it began a slow turn about. “It’ll work; they’ve removed enough of the guard.” Lin locked her grey steel eyes with Asami. “We need to get you and the airbenders on a bison, I can distract them.”

“Chief, I-“

Lin raised a hand roughly. “Sato, I know what you’re going to say, and no, you _don’t_ get to tell me not to do this. Sometimes in battle the best course is to run so you can fight another day. If I can give you time to run, then I’ve done my duty to the Avatar.” Her mouth was set in a firm line, and her shoulders straight.

 _I’m going to kill you_ , Korra. Asami nodded roughly, biting back an agonized wince as she directed her inner helpless fury at her absent mate. _I’m going to find you first, and then I’m going to kill you for making Beifong do this. Stupid, stupid, noble benders._

Before she could say anything else, a giant hook detached from the airship and sizzled past them with a ‘shnk’ noise, sinking into the marble stairs as a cable pulled taught behind the reaching claws. A cloud of dust and plaster erupted from the ground. Asami looked up, and, sure enough, she could see chi-blockers readying themselves to slide down the attached cable.

“ _Go_!” Lin roared, and stomped her foot. A section of the metal claw sheared away, and whirled mid-air, slicing the cable in half as chi-blockers fell from the loose strand into the ocean. She rolled her shoulders and squared up, her stance formidable as an iron horse. Asami took one last look at her, filled with desperate fear, and then turned, grabbing Meelo’s sweaty palm.

“Come on!” She yelled to the girls, hauling Meelo along behind her like a tow line as another metal claw came flying past to sink into the terraced roof. “We have to get to your parents!”

“Metal lady!” Meelo cried, disconsolately reaching out, but Asami steeled herself, and pulled him along as the dust enveloped their view of Lin Beifong, standing alone on the precipice of the island, facing down a hoard of Equalists with a deadly glare.

Tears stung her eyes as she towed Meelo, Ikki and Jinora on, towards the air temple. She could hear the distressed lowing of the bison, and the rising fear in the girls voices as they asked her why they were leaving Lin, why they weren’t staying to fight with her. She ignored their questions, intent, and half-dragged them by their hands through falling debris.

A chi-blocker darted out from the gloom and Ikki stomped her foot, sending a wave of rippling air to knock the surprised man back. Asami swept over him with her glove, stunning him silently, as Meelo added a disrespectful fart his way. Together, the small group crept through the clouds of dust and around chunks of fallen stucco, working together to eliminate any chi-blockers they passed. Asami had time to spare Lin Beifong a hopeful thought; perhaps if they could get to Tenzin in time they could convince the metal bender to join them instead of her stubborn last stand.

The air temple loomed up ahead, and she could already see Tenzin’s red robes as he anxiously scanned the grounds for signs of his children. He caught sight of them, moving determinedly through the pillars as they paused to allow crashing chunks of marble to fall, and sent Asami a quick, desperate smile. She half-heartedly returned it, but his eyes were already moving past her to his children, making a mental count. She caught his gaze again when his eyes returned to her, clearly wondering why Lin wasn’t with them. He opened his mouth, his brow furrowed, but a sudden boom behind him had him tumbling to the ground, throwing himself over Pema and the crying baby.

A dust cloud exploded into Asami’s eyes and mouth, and she threw her arm up to shield them, letting out a harsh coughing fit. A sudden blast of cool air surrounded them, and she turned, seeking the source of the relief. Jinora stood, her hands moving in a weaving, sculpting circle, keeping the air around them cool and protected from the choking debris. Asami gave Jinora a grateful nod, but the girl’s wide and frightened eyes had her turn back around just as quickly. She sucked in a breath at the unwelcome sight that greeted her.

The Lieutenant stepped from the dust, swirling his electrified escrima sticks slowly in a menacing wave. Blue electricity sparkled, almost mesmerizing, like a hypnotic spider drawing Asami into its web, before she shook her head and squared her shoulders. “Hello, little runaway.” He greeted them in his colorless drawl. “Time to come with me.”

Asami shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. Meelo stepped in front of her, and her heart nearly burst with fear and love for him, his tiny form puffed to full size. “You can’t have her, Mister Googly Eyes.”

Asami restrained a chuckle, despite her terror. “Meelo, get back here.” She pushed him back behind her body, ignoring his protests.

“Time to come with me.” The Lieutenant repeated, unfazed. “Or your little friends pay the price for your pride.”

He jerked his chin and a retinue of chi-blockers appeared on either side, flanking him. These were Amon’s elite shock troops, no ordinary Equalists. Asami let her eyes sweep over the band of determined, cold faces, weighing her odds. If she tried to pull the children through, the blockers would separate them like possum-chickens, with little difficulty. The children were small, though, and could probably slip through by virtue of their airbender training, but she wasn’t willing to risk it. Not until she was absolutely sure…

“Don’t harm them.” She raised her hand, fingers twitching in the glove. “Let the airbender children go and I’ll come with you.”

The Lieutenant’s lifeless eyes twitched for half a second, enough that Asami knew he was about to lie. “They’re of no use to me. Come here.”

She squared herself and the glove flared to life. “Kids, _run_.”

Ikki let out a protesting squeak, but Jinora, ever the assessor, had sensed the danger and whirled up a ball of air so forceful that it knocked the Equalist back. The twelve year old grabbed Meelo in one hand and forced Ikki behind her, and the air ball spun upwards, bringing the trio above the ground on its whirling, floating back. It wobbled unsteadily, causing Jinora to let out a surprised gasp, but then her brother and sister joined hands with her, and the air ball solidified and soared toward the air temple steps, where Tenzin’s wide open hands guided it safely to the ground.

“You little _bitch_!” The Lieutenant snarled, his normally stone-composure knocked to one side in favor of the simmering rage that had always been present underneath. It was in that hot, breathless instant before he charged at her that Asami realized in a sort of blurred shock that he had never planned to allow the children to escape, and she knew then that their situation was deadly serious. But the Equalist was upon her in a wave of slashing sticks and crackling blue flame, and she had no time to process, parrying his strikes as she defended herself. He was pressing her surprise, backing her over the debris field and she was terrified she would stumble, fall and twist an ankle and then he’d have her…

No. I am the Avatar’s Mate. She told herself, and a resolute rod of steel strengthened her spine. She struck upwards in a sudden, static charge and her opponent’s silvery eyes widened in shock as the glove met his chest. The force of the shock threw him backwards, and he screamed, more in anger than in pain, before stumbling to his feet, woozy but determined. A cracked, crazed gleam had come into his face and he charged forward, howling.

A billow of air bathed Asami in blessed cool relief for an instant, and she knew Tenzin had joined the fight. The airbending master whirled above her, gathering the smoke and smog from the debris field and funneling it in twin blasts from his hands, aiming at the advancing group of chi-blockers. Some of the Equalists managed to leap clear, but most were slammed down by the force of the air, choking under the airbender’s paternal protective fury. She had never seen Tenzin like this; his exasperated expression of mild dismay had given way to full blown rage, and his brows were knitted like black caterpillars as he bared his brilliantly white teeth.

“Not…my…children…you _bastards_ …” He puffed through gritted teeth, and sent another wave of violently swirling air to lasso the remaining offenders, drawing them together in a strangling grip. “Not…on…my... _father’s_ island…!”

But she couldn’t concentrate on the incandescent fury of the airbender for long; Amon’s Lieutenant had caught her broadside with an electrified slap from the stick and she leapt, dodging even as a lance of pain daggered through her ribs. He was close enough that she could smell the stink of his furious, panting breath, and it sickened her.

“Nasty,” he snarled, incoherent in his wroth. “Nasty, defiant little bitch….teach you a fucking lesson, oh _yes_ , I will.”

 _Not today_ , she thought grimly, but said nothing. She concentrated her efforts on drawing him closer, getting him within range. Her silence seemed only to aggravate him further and he spat disgusting curses at her, informing her of all the ways he would teach her, oh yes, teach her to behave, once she was broken and battered and in chains. She ignored that, too, and danced around his blows, narrowing her gaze to a single-minded focus. _Get closer, you idiot_ , she thought, cold with determination, _get closer and say your filth._

As if he could read her mind, he did, reaching too far, trying to hook her leg with his stick. Within a single, blinding instant, she saw her chance, and seized it. She grabbed him to her body as if she was going to kiss him, whirling with the weight of his charge, and slammed him to the ground, pinning him under her with her knees to his chest. The Lieutenant’s face had time to register shock and surprise, before the glove smashed into it, and he screamed around a mouthful of blue flame.

The screaming went on for a long time.

Asami grimly held the thrashing body down until the thing that had once been the Lieutenant ceased to make any noises but gurgling, rattling, death wheezes. “Not today.” She told the limp, half-seared, half-melted corpse beneath her as tears rained from her cheeks. “Not today.”

A hand touched her shoulder, and she started, whirling in fear, before she saw the red and mustard robes, and the concerned face of the airbender. She opened her mouth to say something, to explain that she had to kill him, she _had_ to…but a wail erupted from her throat instead and she sobbed, folding. Tenzin pushed her face into his robes, and stroked her back, soothing. “You did the right thing,” he murmured quietly. “You did the right-“

But again, they were interrupted, this time by a megaphone voice slithering down from above. A sickeningly familiar, hated voice. Amon.

“That’s quite enough, Miss Sato. The murder of my most trusted lieutenant will not go unanswered.” Both of their eyes trained upwards, tiredly, and Asami saw the Equalist leader standing in the open bay of an airship, speaking into his megaphone, staring down at them as if they were mere ants. He gestured, and a pair of chi-blockers brought forth a limp, bloodied form, half-dragging her between them. They shouldered her down, and Asami felt the energy drain from her body as she saw Lin Beifong’s upthrust, bruised face, still defiant as she hawked a gob of bloody spit between the booted feet of Amon.

“Lin, _no_ …” Tenzin clutched Asami’s shoulder, unconsciously, and he looked up at the airship in agonized understanding.

“Your metal bender friend fought hard, but today she will pay the price for your arrogance, Miss-“

“Stop.” Asami called out. She had no more feeling left in her limbs and an exhausted numbness had settled over her mind. “Let her live. I’ll come with you. I’ll come with you.”

Cries of her name filtered from the temple where the children stared in shock. Pema wept and turned their faces away, but Jinora broke from her embrace. “ _Asami_ , no!”

Tenzin was shaking his head beside her, drawing her closer even as she tried to step back. “No, no, there’s another way, don’t-“

“There is no other way.” Asami wrapped her fingers around his hand, and stepped away. “He’ll kill you all. The children and Lin and Pema too.” She looked into his eyes, asking for understanding, but also enforcing her decision. “Tenzin, I _have_ to.”

He knew she was right. She could see it in his eyes, and the dampness on his cheeks. He shook his head again but then hung it. The decision had been made, and even as his throat closed on whatever he wanted to say, she knew he had accepted it. She stepped back again.

“Tell Korra…” But she didn’t know what she could even say. She shook her head. “Just tell her I love her and I always will.”

Tenzin caught her hand once more. “You brave girl…” he said simply, eyes welling. “You brave, brave girl.”

She couldn’t hear anymore, it would break her resolve. Instead, she signaled to the airship, and a cable dropped down. A metal platform expanded from the base, and she stepped on board, clinging to the steel woven wire of the cable as it lifted her away.

The last view she saw of the burning, rubble wreckage of the island, was the small family of airbenders, winging away in the opposite direction on an air bison. Three small faces watched her with solemn eyes. Then the smoke rose up and she could see no more.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re back! After a long hiatus, the much-awaited 18th chapter! Whew, this is turning into a beast, but never fear: I don’t abandon fics, I just take my time with updates. Quality over quantity is my watchword, folks. Hope you agree!
> 
> And for those of you who had early access to this fic via my Tumbler’s bio links, thank you for your continued support and I love you guys!

Tarrlok was speaking, but Korra didn’t hear him.   
  
She heard waves in her ears, as if she was back at home, standing on the spit of a glacier at the South Pole, watching the spring breakup as the ice tossed in the black water. The roaring, rushing sound almost blotted out her vision, too, obscuring it with pure, ice-white nothingness until the sight of the airship leaving Air Temple Island was a tiny pinprick, and then no more. Tarrlok was gesturing behind her, she could feel the wind of his hands moving, but she didn’t care; couldn’t care. His oily, snakeskin speech was dropping into the void, unheard.   
  
Until he touched her, his hand landing condescendingly on her shoulder, and the void pulled back in a wind-whipped rush.   
  
“…come quietly and I’m sure we can find a place for you in Amon’s-“   
  
But the words never finished. Korra turned back at him, and for a mad, searing instant, all she could see was shrouded in white, and she felt an infinite, all-consuming power thrum through her veins. Tarrlok’s smug expression dropped, going slack and pale instead. He lifted his hands, half-threatening, half-pleading, and stepped back. Blue returned to her vision, and she roared, terrifying herself at the volume and the hairs raised on her neck, but she wasn’t the only one. Tarrlok trembled, stepping back even further, but the roar kept issuing from her mouth, over and over.   
  
The vibrato was enormous. It shattered the ice holding Bolin and Mako imprisoned, and they tumbled free with a thunderous crack. Mako spun even as he fell, and jetted out with a flame, sending Tarrlok scurrying back, but Korra was already pursuing, the roar steadily pouring from her lungs as she screamed her fury down at the traitorous councilman from atop an icy cyclone that she was drawing from every available water source. Tarrlok saw her coming and cursed, sheeting out ice that nearly tripped her as he dashed for the exit, bolting headlong, all attempts at conciliatory smugness abandoned. Bolin sent a wave of marble up from the floor, almost beautiful in its elegant curl, and shattered it into a barrier of broken chunks before the waterbender could reach the door.   
  
Trapped, Tarrlok turned to face them, a hideous snarl obscuring his once-handsome features; he looked like a cornered animal and he clearly meant to fight like one. A sheet of deadly ice sliced past Mako’s head, only missing him by a hair due to a well-timed duck.   
  
“Fools!” He hissed, spittle dropping from his normally-pristine lips. “Amon will have you all. And the blood royal too.”   
  
Korra wasn’t listening to taunts, however. The waves had filled her ears again, and there seemed to be only a tiny sliver of her remaining, tethered to the marble while the rest of her was somewhere in the cosmos, larger and more complete than she could ever imagine. The screaming, unholy noise coming from her mouth was unattached to her, separate from her brain, which was still reeling in the knowledge that she’d been duped, that Asami had been taken from her. Even as she flung glass-like ice shards at Tarrlok, slicing his fine robes into blood-tinged ribbons, she was barely aware of herself. Everything seemed to be moving slowly, as if underwater.   
  
If Korra had been a more experienced Avatar, she would have recognized this chaotic white noise as a part of the beginning of her transformation into the ethereal Avatar State…but Korra was not an experienced Avatar. She couldn’t grasp at the tendrils of power being offered to her in her rage, and so the mist faded from her mind. She blinked, and that was long enough for the councilmember to take advantage, trying his best to crunch her body with a fist like contraction of bloodbending. Korra screamed, agonized, as her very veins fought her, trying to constrict her into a horribly twisted shape, but again, the white noise subsumed her and she cried out, shattering his hold as she flung fire from her limbs. Korra fell to the ground, gasping, and swung out as her vision cleared, aiming for Tarrlok’s neck.   
  
She caught the waterbender with a chunk of ice, and he made a ‘hrrk’ noise that was deeply satisfying to the young Avatar, as he went down to his knees, clutching his throat.   
  
“Where is Amon taking Asami?” Behind her, Mako was remembering to ask the right questions. He raised his fist threateningly. “Tell us _now_ .”   
  
Tarrlok spat blood and croaked, seemingly unable to speak, before he finally rasped out a painful laugh. “Somewhere you’d never find her, even if you had the chance to look before Hiroshi’s forces obliterated you.”   
  
“Hey buddy, that’s a fully-pissed-off Avatar, right there.” Bolin gestured to Korra, who was still heaving with barely-suppressed rage, fingers curling and uncurling in dagger-points of ice. “Might wanna save the whole villainous spiel for later. _Where’s Asami?”_   
  
Tarrlok narrowed an eye at him as if he wanted to spit out a smart remark, but Korra let out a tiny snarl, just the wisp of air hissing through her gritted teeth, and he seemed to think better of it. He sighed, deep and ragged.   
  
“What’s the use, my brother will kill me anyway if you escape.” A droplet of blood slipped from a cut on his face into his lap, staining the pure white silk of his inner robe. He looked at it almost contemplatively. “Hiroshi is taking the girl to his ironworks on Tigerseal Island, just north of the city.” He raised his head. “But you’ll never make it, truly. Sato has hired every mercenary force from here to Ba Sing Se.”   
  
“Good, because he’s gonna need all of them to keep the Avatar from her mate.” Bolin nodded smartly and stamped his foot, curling a fist. The marble rumbled, and a jet of earth erupted below Tarrlok’s feet, trapping him in a spear of solid rock, with only his head left free. The waterbender only snorted, eyes deadened and numb.   
  
Bolin turned back to Mako and Korra. “We need to go, I’m guessing?”   
  
Mako nodded, clapping his brother on the shoulder and favoring him with a quick warm smile. “Nice move, Bo.” His eyes shifted to Korra, uneasily, as if she were a live bomb about to detonate. “Korra?”   
  
She nodded slowly, feeling like her spine was made of molasses. “Go. Yes.” She shook herself, and whistled for Naga, feeling strangely hollow. The ironworks on Tigerseal Island. That was a long way away. Too far for Naga to swim. How would they-   
  
A bellow from the outer courtyard of the Hall came rushing to her ears, and a familiar voice called her name. Tenzin. She could hear Pema’s ringing tones, too, cautioning the kids to keep still. “Tenzin!” Korra cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled, turning to the source of the sound.   
  
The bison bellowed again, louder this time, and Oogie thundered into the ruined entrance, easily summiting the shattered blocks, followed by a scrambling, panting Naga, tongue happily wagging. Tenzin was atop Oogie’s saddle, eyes scanning worriedly through the rubble, and Pema sat behind him with Rohan on her lap, keeping a firm hand fisted in Meelo’s shirt. Jinora and Ikki pointed when they saw Korra, and waved excitedly, but their faces were frantic, ashen with worry.   
  
“Korra!” Tenzin was off the saddle and enveloping Korra into a hug before she knew it. His billowing robes smelled of resin incense from the temple, and for a moment she simply closed her eyes and breathed it in, allowing herself to be calmed. “Thank goodness, I was so worried.” He brushed her shoulders and hair distractedly, and admonished her, as he was so wont to do. “What in the _world_ possessed you to leave the island?!”   
  
Korra gave an anguished, wrenching sob, and Tenzin looked stricken. “Korra, I-“   
  
“No.” She interrupted him, shaking her head. “I was arrogant. I thought I could save her by attacking him first. I was being stupid.” She cast a desperate look back at Bolin and Mako, each bloodied and bruised. “I almost cost them their lives and I just hope-“   
  
But her breath caught before she could finish. I just hope I haven’t cost Asami’s life as well, she thought miserably, and swiped a furious arm over her eyes. “Tenzin…everyone... I’m sorry.”   
  
“Korra-“ Mako stepped forward, but it was Bolin who spoke first:   
  
“Knock that off. You’re the Avatar, but that doesn’t mean you’re not human. You made a mistake. There’s still time to do what you wanted to do though! We can still cut through the heart of Amon’s operation and take Asami back.” He struck a dramatic pose. “Who’s with me?”   
  
Korra blinked at him, half-stunned. The rest of the group seemed to feel similarly. Bolin’s shoulders sagged. “Aw come on guys, it works when Korra does it.”   
  
“He’s right.” Mako stepped behind his brother, who turned to look at him gratefully. “Not about the dramatic pose thing, that’s…weird….but about rescuing Asami. We know where they’ve taken her.” He turned to Tenzin. “Any chance you know where Tigerseal Island is?”   


Tenzin grimly shook his head. “It’s almost impossible to get into that bay.” A strange, wild look crossed his eyes. “But I just may know someone who can help…”

***

Aboard the airship, Asami paced in her confining cell, which had once been a section of the boiler room.   
  
The heat was oppressive, but worse was the encircling stink of unfamiliar alphas guarding her; her newly-mated body itched and tingled with rejection of any alpha but her own. Korra. Thoughts of her mate kept her worried, anxious. She knew that the Avatar would return to the island from wherever she was, find the temple ruined, the grounds destroyed, and her omega gone… Korra wasn’t likely to take that well. Although she was still rightfully angry at her mate for leaving her to go fight alone, Asami nonetheless mourned for the fear and panic that she knew Korra would feel. She only hoped Mako or Bolin were around to keep the young Avatar grounded.   
  
Her thoughts turned to Lin Beifong, somewhere else in the airship, likely unconscious and badly beaten. She was worried about Lin, too. Asami had a full plate of fears, and allotted little to herself. She knew she would likely die here, in this very airship, and the thought was far away; unimportant. What was important was the feelings of her mate, and the survival of the woman who had protected her; those things she could control, to some degree. She could help.   
  
Her own death…that she had known was coming ever since putting the glove to her father’s eye. She accepted it with bushido calm, and didn’t acknowledge it further. In many ways, Asami was her father’s daughter, but in this sense she differed. Hiroshi, knowing his end was at hand, would have fought, rat-like and desperate, using every advantage at his disposal. But his only offspring was not about to reduce herself in such a manner. She did not fear death. She only feared what it might do to those she left behind. In this way, although she did not know it, Asami was greater than the sum of her father, and this fact would have rankled him.   
  
She paused in her pacing, and readied herself. Someone was coming; she could hear the sound of heavy footfalls in the metal gangplank-style hallway, and her body bristled instinctively as she heard the sharp, commanding tones of her father. Here he comes, she thought, quietly, and a blanket of resolve settled over her shoulders. Swiftly, before the door unlocked, she slid a long, thin section of metal (which had once been a faulty boiler pressure gauge handle) into the sleeve of her jacket, and straightened before the door had even begun to creak open.   
  
When Hiroshi entered the room, he found his daughter sitting cross-legged on the pile of mats that had been afforded to her as a bed. If it pained him to see Sato blood reduced to this, he did not show it. His face was a mask of indifference, as if she were no more than an insect to him, but beneath the display, Asami could sense his anger. It was very real, and very close to the surface. She assessed all of this, silently, and waited for him to speak.   
  
Hiroshi nodded stiffly to the guards who had followed him into the cell. “Leave us.”   
  
“Yes, sir.” The chi blocker alphas shuffled quickly out, clearly not willing to risk a rebuke. Asami breathed a small sigh of relief as they did: the stifling alpha stink was lessening.   
  
Her father paced for a while, as he always did to ‘gather his thoughts’ before he would punish her when she was a child. For a moment, she almost smiled. His bluster was so transparent now, but he still assumed it would work on her as it always had. As if she was still that small and weak child, dark-eyed in her misery after the loss of her mother, face smudged from sneaking away into the factories, trembling before her father…quaking in anticipation of his wroth.   
  
She was not that child anymore. Through his own actions, he had seen to that.   
  
Hiroshi was unnerved by her silence, thrown off his routine. He paused to glare at her, affixing her with the strength of his one remaining eye, while the other, twisted and shut forever, was intended to remind her of what she had done. She met his gaze, solidly, and returned it with interest, as if she was inspecting the handiwork of one of her engineers.   
  
“So they did manage to save your other eye. That is good. I intended to wound you, not blind you.” She spoke as if she were discussing the price of steel parts in Ba Sing Se, not their most recent, and near fatal, interaction.   
  
“You intended to…” Hiroshi drew a hiss of a breath between his ruined, scarred lips. “What you intended to do is of no importance. What you did do, however, is far more important. You betrayed me. And you mutilated me. All for that filthy bender.” His fists curled.   
  
“She’s my mate.” Asami replied, easily. She hardly blinked, having mentally prepared for this moment since the second that Korra’s mark was laid upon her neck. It came a lot simpler than she’d expected, and she almost wanted to breathe a sigh of relief…but the look on her father’s face told her that would be most presumptuous.   
  
“Your mate.” Hiroshi looked nearly purple. “Of course. She fulfilled the contract. The one you were supposed to sabotage.”   
  
“Yes, _the_ contract. That you, publicly and with great flourish, signed, in front of multiple witnesses. _That_ contract. Copies of which exist in several places other than Air Temple Island.” Asami smoothly assured him. “I am your daughter after all: I know how to use leverage. If anything should happen outside of my specifications for surrender, those copies will go to well-paid publishers. And everyone will know exactly how Hiroshi Sato does business.” She allowed herself a neat, and yet savage, smile. “Which is, to say, rather _nastily_ .”   
  
“You brazen little….” Her father appeared to have trouble breathing, such was his rage. The veins on his ravaged forehead were bright blue. “What are your specifications for surrender?” He nearly spat the words out.   
  
Asami swept a hair out of her eyes and straightened. “One. That Lin Beifong should, under no circumstances, be harmed, and should be allowed to go free when we land.”   
  
Hiroshi’s one good eye narrowed. “The metal bender? What is she to you?” When Asami merely shook her head, he waved his hand, appearing to give it up. “No matter. I care not how many bender lovers you lay with, if that is your wish. The Chief shall go free…surrendering her title, of course.”   
  
Asami had doubts that the Chief would relinquish that last part quietly, but she soldiered on, aware that she was on tenuous ground. If Hiroshi sensed she was bluffing, even for a second… “Secondly. The airbenders will not be pursued further. They will leave Republic City; Amon may have it. But allow them their lives.”   
  
Hiroshi studied her, as if he were assessing how this could benefit or negatively impact him. “You ask for succor for the benders but not your Avatar lover. Why?”   
  
Asami drew in a breath, and released it in a low hiss. She had been preparing for this moment, too. “Because Korra is going to kill you. Either way she’ll find you and kill you.” She smiled, low and unpleasant, showing teeth. “But if you release her friends first, I can probably convince her to kill you last. And quickly. See Father, I do have some sense of filial duty left.”   
  
The vein on Hiroshi’s temple burst. Rage spilled across his once-handsome features and made them even uglier. “You filthy bender-fucking _cunt_ !” He screamed, spittle spraying from his twisted lips. “You’ll see your precious _Korra_ raped by a thousand chi blockers before you-“   
  
“Don’t say her name.” Asami uncurled herself, slowly, from the mats and rose to her full height.   


“Or _what_ , traitorous spawn?” Hiroshi snarled, his one eye fixed in absolute fury on Asami’s face as she coldly faced him, within inches of his wroth. “You think I give a damn about respecting your _mate_ ? Your disgusting _bond_ ? No.” He shook his head, and produced an oily smile. “I’ll have your mark seared off and have you mounted by Amon himself. And your beloved Korra will watch you with her head on a spike!”   
  
“Don’t. Say. Her. Name.” Asami spoke the words evenly, but she kept her laser focus narrowed on Hiroshi. With a silent, dexterous slide, the long strip of ragged metal dropped from her sleeve into her palm, but she didn’t look down. She locked her eyes with her father and lifted her head in a challenge.   
  
As she’d predicted, Hiroshi’s alpha would not allow his omega daughter, his lesser, to offer a challenge. The Sato patriarch’s face went dark with unbridled fury, and he bulled heedlessly forward, arms outstretched, fingers seeking her throat. She sidestepped him, almost casually, and he stumbled, howling in indignant rage as she pivoted behind the range of his good eye. The alpha snarled, and his hand groped crazily forward, determined to find her neck and crush the offending mark—   
  
Instead, her father gave a soft sort of ‘ _huh_ ’ noise, and looked down to his armpit, where a long, unpleasant strip of metal that had once been a pressure gauge handle, protruded alarmingly from his side. A blossom of dark, wine-black blood was spreading, staining the forest-green of his jacket. Asami briefly, and absurdly, had a sudden thought of _oh I hope that stain comes out_ , and then her only remaining parent was tumbling to the ground, his one eye bulged in macabre-comic surprise, fingers still reaching for her. Hiroshi wheezed, sounding wet, and blood bubbled from his lips. He twisted to look at her, again as if in shock and mild alarm, _oh no this wasn’t supposed to-_   
  
And then he died.   
  
Asami watched it happen. And despite all the madness, the fear, the vile, malicious things he’d said…the way he’d treated her…she felt a sob escape her, and the tears let loose. The dam broke, and she slid to the floor with her father’s corpse, knees sticky in his rapidly-cooling blood, and sobbed until she could barely draw breath. It was done. He was gone. He had been her tormentor, her captor… but also her _father_ , and the way she felt in that moment couldn’t be explained to anyone living. She mourned crazily and without reason, but still: she mourned.   
  
Sometimes grief is for things larger than memory.   
  
***   
Korra blinked. She was getting irritated. “And _who_ are you, exactly?”   
  
“General Iroh.” The smooth-faced firebender repeated, patiently. “Fire Nation Navy, First Rank, at your service, Avatar Korra.”   
  
He was politely ignoring Mako, who appeared to be sizing him up, crossly regarding the stranger with a suspicious eye, and Bolin, who was giddily examining the giant battleship behind him. Pabu chattered with excitement as the young earthbender bounced up and down.   
  
“Guys, guys! Look at the _size_ of that ship!”   
  
Everyone tacitly pretended he did not exist. Korra shook her head. “General Iroh, then. Why are you here?” She was tired; too tired to avoid her native bluntness for the sake of appearances.   
  
Luckily, Iroh didn’t seem to mind. “My family has served the Avatar since before I was born. My grandfather, Firelord Zuko—“   
  
“We _know_ who your grandfather is.” Mako interrupted, testily. He was clearly miffed over this handsome stranger appearing to flaunt his blue blood. “We’re the Avatar’s companions now. My brother and me.” He gestured behind him, and then appeared to immediately regret it when he saw Bolin’s huge smile.

  
“Hiiii. Hey. Hey there.” Bolin waved. “I’m Bolin. Nice ship you got there.”   
  
“Quit complimenting him.” Mako hissed, and then narrowed his eyes back at Iroh. “Why should Korra trust you? You could be working for Amon to bring us in, using Avatar Aang’s past connections as the bait.”   
  
Iroh regarded Mako stiffly. “I’ll ignore that insult to my family’s honor, but just this _once_ .” He warned.   
  
“Okay enough.” Korra waved her hands. She fixed Iroh with a bloodshot glare. “Listen, pal. I appreciate your grandfather, and I’ll appreciate you if you’re what you say you are, but what Mako says is true. We have no reason to trust you. Amon has infiltrated everywhere, even my own guards.” Iroh opened his mouth to argue and Mako harrumphed in triumph, so she continued hurriedly on: “ _But_ , you’re saying you have a way into Tigerseal Island. Is that why you contacted Tenzin?”   
  
“Yes.” Iroh’s haughty features realigned into something like earnest composure. “Please. Avatar Korra, I don’t want to harm you. I want to offer you and your….companions, safe passage into the bay, and provide defense for as long as you need to recover your mate.” He drew in a sharp salute. “It would be my _honor_ to protect you.”   
  
Mako made unhappy noises, but Korra was looking into the eyes of the newcomer. She had a feeling she had seen those eyes before. There was an innate sense of right in them. She held out her hand. “I’ll hold you to your word, General.”   
  
Iroh clasped it gratefully. “I would accept nothing less.” He told her. “Now, please.” Gesturing, he opened his arm on the battleship. “Everyone is welcome on the flagship.”   
  
Mako was heard to scornfully mutter ‘flagship’ to himself, but Naga bounded past him and gave Iroh a long, welcoming lick. The polar bear dog mussed up the General’s fine uniform like a hurricane passing through, and his hair was in a solid curl by the time she finished. Iroh blinked, looking struck dumb for a few seconds, and then he let out a booming, surprisingly loud laugh.   
  
“She likes me!” He announced, delighted.   
  
Korra raised a brow at Mako, and he sighed defeatedly. “Fine, but if this all goes down in flames, I get to say I told you so before we burn up.”   
  
“Your choice of consolation prize is pretty dire, bro.” Bolin clapped him the shoulder. “Come on.” 

The brothers followed Iroh up the gangplank. Tenzin and his family, along with the air bison, had long ago left for the recreated Southern Air Temple, but Korra still pensively scanned the skies, looking for signs of any of Amon’s war balloons. Something didn’t feel right. Iroh and his help was much appreciated, and it felt relatively secure to accept it, but something in her gut still roiled with mistrust. She’d made too many mistakes, and Asami’s life wasn’t the only one at stake anymore.   
  
Finally, after lingering long enough on the pier, she slid aboard Naga’s panting back and whistled. Come what may, the Avatar that crossed the bay wasn’t the same as the one who had left the island, this morning. She had to cling to that hope, at least. It was all she had.

Her great white beast thundered up the gangplank and she ducked her head as the sheet of steel retracted after her; pulled by two metal benders on either side. Inside the battleship, she looked around, taking stock. Mako and Bolin flanked each other, eyes loyally locked on their Avatar leader, and Iroh and his men were watching her, too. Time to prove their faith wasn’t misplaced.   
  
She squared her shoulders. “Let’s go get my mate back.”   


***


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami and Korra are reunited, but at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! It’s almost been a year since I started this little epic of mine, and we are getting close to the end now. It’s amazing to me that this fic started with humble intentions, and blossomed to a huge enterprise that is 50k+ hits strong now. I am so grateful to each and every one of you, and a huge <3 to all of you for staying with it. So close now!

The world had turned to storm and grey.    
  
Outside the airship, patches of white lightning sparked, and rain fell like a steady drum, hammering the steel frame. There were shouts, and chaotic feet running up and down the corridors, and the strange hiss of the boiler was increasing in volume, but Asami hardly noticed it.    
  
The Equalist airmen had left her alone since discovering her with Hiroshi’s corpse. They didn’t quite seem to know what to do with her. There had been muffled shouts, and yelling, and more pounding feet, but no one had seemed to take charge of the moment, so they simply left the door barred as the storm raged, as if to forestall dealing with the problem until after they had made it through the storm. Asami didn’t know if they would make it through, however. She knew airship engineering like the back of her hand, and none were well-made enough to withstand a lightning strike without bursting like a red hot balloon. There was a blank numbness to her acceptance that the ship was likely going down, and, as she waited for her death once more, in the rapidly-cooling puddle of her father’s sticky, congealed blood, her thoughts were calm and still.    
  
_ Korra. Korra, know that I love you. Know that all of this was always going to happen, none of it was your fault.  _ She stared down at her hands, covered in drying black flecks of blood. _ He and I were always going to end this way.  _ __   
__   
The ship rocked, hard, to one side, and she had to put a hand on the floor to steady herself. Stray screws and ball bearings rolled across the floor, collecting beside her knees and in the far corners, rattling machine-gun loud against the boiler. A white flash exploded behind her, in the small window, and filled the room with an instant’s worth of brilliant light.    
  
That was close. She thought, dimly, but fear felt far away, and unimportant. It’ll hit the ship soon.  __ Oh Lin, I hope you get away somehow. That was unlikely, she knew, but she still dared to hope that the metal bender would make good her escape. It was, after all, her fault that Beifong was captured in the first place. Lin, wounded as she was, was still a formidably strong and smart opponent, so if she could take advantage—

  
A terrifically loud noise, like the tearing of a great sheet of metal, interrupted her thoughts, and there was more shouts, increasing in volume. Screams followed, and there were repetitive bangs, coming up the hallway with ferocious speed.   
  
Asami got to her feet. Something was happening. Something other than the storm. Her bushido calm fled and she grit her teeth, crouching low over the corpse of her father. She wrapped her hands around the shank of metal she had buried in his chest, and lifted, ignoring the sickly wet scraping sound as it pulled from her father’s body. Thick black blood dropped slowly from the rusted metal onto the corpse’s padded clothing, with muffled beats. Asami willed the blue-steel core of her being to remain still as she waited, flexing her fingers on the weapon.   
  
There was a chorus of yells and someone screamed ‘Get back here! Don’t let her—‘ but his voice was choked abruptly silent. More bangs. A strange whooshing noise, and a hollow, metallic-sounding thump. Asami felt her heart pound against her ribs and fought with the cagey, internal omega instinct to hide. Her nostrils quivered, trying to catch a scent, but it was choked under waves of drying blood and engine grease. She straightened, keeping the quivering point of metal directed toward the door.   
  
_Come on_ , she thought grimly. _Just come on…_ _  
_  
The door blew open, slamming against the wall as it sagged on its hinges, clearly battered beyond repair, and a billow of steam stung Asami’s eyes, momentarily blinding her. She dropped to her ready stance, trying not to choke, when a sudden influx of scent made her pause. A gasp rose in her throat and she hardly dared to believe, but the scent was there…  
  
“ _Hiroshi!_ ” An strident voice bellowed, achingly familiar. “I will tear this fucking ship _apart_! Show yourself!”  
  
“Korra?” She called into the smoke and steam, her hopes lingering on a thread.   
  
The air cleared in a rush that left her breathless, and she fell to her knees again, beside the body, as the metal clattered from her fingers to the floor. A strong brown hand was funneling the smoke away, and then the most beautiful pair of blue eyes that she had ever seen were boring into hers. _Korra_.   
  
It took the Avatar seconds to reach her, arms enfolding the omega just as her body buckled in relief. She let out a choked sob, and buried her face into the sweat-and-grease-soaked fabric of Korra’s shirt, fingers gripping the fabric with desperation. Her alpha’s scent flooded her nose: worry, guilt, fear, anguish, all blanketing her senses with the potency of her mate’s emotions. They clung together.   
  
“Asami,” Korra’s hands pushed urgently against her back, keeping her close, as the alpha shoved her nose inelegantly against the omega’s pulse. She was weeping, and her tears were hot on Asami’s skin. “Oh Spirits, I thought I’d lost you….I was so foolish, so stupid…so _fucking_ stupid, I’m _sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,_ __I —“  
  
A choked sob escaped the omega then, and Korra’s nails dug into her arms, almost painfully, but Asami hardly noticed. She was too busy reaching out to sculpt the worried, tear-stained features of her mate, feeling the wetness on her own cheeks as a wavering smile broke on her face for the first time in what felt like ages. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she told Korra, truthfully.   
  
Korra caught her palm and kissed it, fervently, her eyes never leaving Asami’s. “I didn’t know if I would see you either.” She said, with painful honest, and then did a double take, blinking down at the hand she’d kissed. “I—is this blood?”   
  
The Avatar looked down, confused, and, for the first time, realized that they were kneeling beside a corpse. The realization of just whose corpse it was hit her then, and her blue eyes bulged, almost comically. Asami swallowed deeply, drawing her palm back to her chest, but Korra caught it again, pulling the omega back to her as she moved them delicately further away from Hiroshi’s body.   
  
“Did he hurt you?” Her mate brushed a hair from her face, examining Asami’s exhausted form more closely.   
  
Asami grimaced, remembering the hands at her throat, but shook her head. “No. He wanted you dead, though.”  
  
Korra snorted, and it was an unpleasant, dark noise. “I can imagine.” Her eyes never left Asami’s. “He deserved it, Asami. Everything he did to you…everything he was going to do…You can’t blame yourself because of—“  
  
But the omega was shaking her head. “I don’t. I don’t blame myself. I know he deserved it.” She blinked back tears, fiercely. “I know he did. I just….wish he could have been better. I wish none of this happened.” Her shoulders sagged.   
  
“I know,” Korra enfolded her again, holding the back of her head, and she reflexively clung back, not wanting to leave her mate’s embrace again for all the money in the world. “But I’m grateful for one thing in all this mess: I met you. And everything that happens after this…I know we can make it if we’re together. That’s all I need.”   
  
Strong fingers roughly stroked Asami’s hair, and she closed her eyes, gratefully.   
  
“Korra? Korra, I can’t find Asami anywhere in the midship, I think they probably have her somewhere el—“ Mako’s voice abruptly cut off as he saw them. He was in the doorway, looking a bit worse for wear but not overly injured, and although his face registered some initial fluster, he managed a smile when Asami looked up and met his gaze. “Oh. You found her. Hey, Asami.”  
  
“Hey, Mako.” Asami managed a weak smile back, but didn’t feel quite up to disentangling yet. Korra’s arms tightened around her and she knew the alpha felt the same, but, reluctantly, she turned to face her friend.   
  
“I found her.” Korra confirmed. “Did Iroh manage to land this thing safely?” At Asami’s questioning look, she leaned in to explain. “Iroh’s the Firelord’s son. We…uh…kinda started a war to rescue you.”  
  
Asami blinked, processing that. “General Iroh? Izumi’s son? You have the Fire Prince flying this airship?”  
  
Mako looked a bit pale. “Uh, not so much. He and Bolin are doing a lot of swearing at the helm right now. Iroh says these airships are nothing like battleships, and he doesn’t know why we thought that he would be able to fly one.”  
  
The omega rolled up her sleeves, looking determined, and snorted. “Well, yes. Obviously. Get me to the helm: I can take this thing to the ground and hopefully not kill us in the process.” She turned to Mako. “Oh, but first we need to go rescue Lin Beifong.”   
  
Mako seemed to be a bit more concerned after that, but Korra beamed with pride.   
  
“That’s my mate.”  
***

  
The rescue was no work at all; the Equalists had all abandoned ship with parachutes upon learning the Avatar was aboard and fighting mad. Lin looked unsurprised to see them, and admonished Korra for making such a massive amount of noise in her rescue. The Avatar looked at her mate over the metal bender’s departing shoulders and shrugged.    
  
However, the airship proved slightly more damaged than was necessarily flyable, so the landing on Tigerseal Island was not exactly soft, but Asami felt she had acquitted herself well. Beifong was her usual, stoic self, and Bolin had stopped screaming, but it did take several minutes. Iroh, however, looked permanently traumatized and had vomited into an air duct. Twice. Asami felt for him; he certainly did seem an outsider in their little rag-tag group, but he had pulled together pretty well afterwards.    
  
“Well, that thing will never fly again,” she said as she swung down from the ramp, joining Korra and the others on the rocky ground. Her mate put a hand on her back as soon as she reached them, anxiously unable to stop touching her. Asami felt the same way.    
  
“It never  _ should _ fly again.” Bolin muttered darkly.    
  
“But my father keeps… _ kept _ …a few fighter planes out here. It’s my guess he was going to utilize them for Amon.” She continued briskly, giving the earthbender a conciliatory pat on the shoulder as she went on, addressing the group. “We can use a plane to get back to the city, and sabotage the others. They may be guarded, but I’d doubt it: the island doesn’t have the resources to support full time staff, so they work in shifts.”    
  
Lin nodded approvingly. “Smart thinking as usual, Sato.” She eyed Korra, and nudged her sharply. “Your mate is brighter than you, any day. You ought to not leave her out from now on.”   
  
“I don’t plan to.” Korra replied, but her eyes never left Asami.    
  
“Where’s the hangar?” Iroh broke in, clearly anxious to get moving again, and Asami could hardly blame him. She had no idea how the Fire Prince had been sucked into this mess, but she imagined Korra was behind it.    
  
The omega gestured, offering to lead on, and they followed, trudging over lava rock and dodging the tigerseals that gave the island its name. The omnipresent sound of barking followed them, even as they picked their way through the rocks to the sandy path leading to the flight bay. The ground was hot and the mood was grim, but the sea air felt good on Asami’s bare shoulders, through her ripped jacket. She found herself smiling, looking at Korra’s fingers in her own. The Avatar looked back at her every so often, as if she was afraid she would disappear, and Asami squeezed her knuckles each time.    
  
There was a strange lightness in Asami’s body, despite the grim atmosphere and heightened odds against them. The acceptance of death was leaving her, in little slips, like a toxin being expelled from her body. She was almost feeling the urge to kick her feet up and laugh, but the absurdity of it restrained her impulses. The situation demanded seriousness, but while one part of her mind was logical, calculating the chances….the other part had a wild, ridiculous happiness, and a sense of inner rightness. She tried to abolish her grin as best she could, but it clung anyway.    
  
At the hangar, they found a good fifteen planes, far more than Asami had anticipated. Her father had been busy, she reflected ruefully, and then gave up on that unhappy chain of thought so she could jump into the cockpit of the nearest fighter, and aim its cannons on the neighboring plane. Bolin and Mako were already working to destroy the ones on her other side, shattering wings with rockslides and blowing up engines with fire bolts, while, across the hangar, Iroh and Lin worked as a severe, dedicated unit, doing the same thing but much quicker and with more efficiency.    
  
Korra outpaced them all, however, seamlessly shearing off wings with air blasts and disabling engines with floods of water, jets of fire, and pillars of earth. She looked absolutely resplendent, but definitely furious, and it was obvious that she was venting every once of her frustration at Asami’s father onto his planes. His handiwork. Asami felt her heart clench in loyalty to her mate, in awe of her prowess once more. Korra truly was a formidable bender. It wasn’t long until the airplanes were all destroyed, save the one Asami had chosen, and while Korra was panting, she didn’t seem fully satisfied, and her agitation was clear.    
  
“Something’s not right.” The Avatar announced, tersely. “This was too easy. It—“   
  
But she was interrupted by a crackling, speaker noise. Bolin scanned, and sighted it immediately. “A radio transmitter!” He frantically pointed to a corner of the hangar. “There!”   
  
“Very good, Avatar.” Amon’s silken, snake-like voice rattled across the hangar, the echo whining into their eardrums. “You got your mate back, you killed my righthand man, and, look, you’ve destroyed all my planes. Well, I should say, all  _ your _ planes. Because, you see, we have many more.  _ Many _ , many more.”   
  
Korra’s fists clenched and her spine tightened under Asami’s palm. “Amon, you coward. Get out here and—“   
  
“It’s a recording,” Asami recognized instantly, spreading her fingers to soothe Korra. “He’s not really here.”    
  
As if in reply to something no one had said, Amon continued, crackling over the intercom placed in the high corner of the hangar. “I’m sure your anger is terrible to see, Avatar. So terrible that you wish to tear me apart with your bending. Well, why not have your chance? After all, I do have your Master, here.”   
  
Asami shook her head. “No. I saw them get away.” She grabbed Korra’s hand. “I saw them leave.”   
  
Just as she said it, though, her heart wrenched to hear a muffled thump, and then Tenzin’s clearly identifiable voice, hoarse with fear, rumbling over the static of the speakers.    
  
“ _ Korra _ ,  _ don’t _ , it’s a trap—“   
  
They could hear Jinora cry out, echoing her father, and then Meelo yelling something unintelligible, and Pema shushing him, haggard and quiet, over the sound of Rohan’s crying. Ikki was crying, too. Asami’s heart plummeted three stories down into her stomach and clenched like a vise. They had them. Amon had the airbenders. It had been a trick, all along.    
  
“Of course it’s a trap.” Amon’s voice droned on. “But the Avatar thinks she knows how to beat my traps,  _ doesn’t _ she? She thinks she knows what’s best: best for her mate, best for her friends...best for everyone in the world. So come, Avatar, come try to rescue your airbending family before I take their bending away, tomorrow in the arena at sundown. Of course, we’ll have to see then if you really do kno—“   
  
Mako grunted, and a streak of fire shot from his fist, exploding the speaker in a shower of sparks. “That’s about as much of that as I can take.” He turned to Korra, eyes dark and serious. “You think they really have the airbenders? Or is this another trick?”   
  
“It’s no trick.” Lin’s voice was tired. “That was Tenzin all right. We were double-crossed at the island twice: first by the spies inside the guard, and then again when we thought we were trading our lives for theirs.” She spared a commiserating glance at Asami. “We did make a good last stand though, you and I.”   
  
Asami nodded and smiled painfully at her. “We did.”    
  
“I believe that.” Korra’s brow was furrowed, and she was thinking hard. “I also believe that Amon has Tenzin’s family. It’s the kind of trick card a bastard like that would pull.” She bit her lip.    
  
“It’s my fault.” Asami felt tears rising in her eyes. “The children tried to protect me. I should never have let them.”   
  
Korra was shaking her head even as Lin made a protesting noise, and she stepped to her mate, taking her hands. “And then I could say it’s my fault for leaving you. And then you could say it’s your fault because of going along with your father’s plans. And I could say its my fault in the first place because my upbringing had me so pampered that all I cared about was myself, mating some poor omega. Or I could blame the White Lotus. Or Aang. Don’t you see?” 

 

Her fingers tightened urgently. “It’s all a cycle of blame and regret. Nothing heals or changes. We have to forgive ourselves. Or we can’t grow, and if we can’t grow, then  _ no one _ gets saved.”   
  
Korra pulled her close, and Asami let out the smallest sob in her arms, shivering for a second before she could compose herself enough to step back. She sniffed, and then smiled, as she wiped her eyes. “When did you become this amazing balanced Avatar all of a sudden?”   
  
“I was wondering the same thing,” quipped Lin, with her usual dry reserve.    
  
“When I thought I lost you.” Korra told Asami, looking into her eyes, and ignoring Lin. “When I realized what blame and anger could do. What foolishness it could lead you into. And what it could take from you.”    
  
She kissed Asami’s fingers, lightly, and then straightened, looking slightly embarrassed. “So, anyway,  _ ahem _ , we need a plan. And I think I….I think I may have one. But I need all of your help.”   
  


***

  
Korra’s plan was a good one, but it took a long time to hash out.    
  
When it was done, everyone was tired, and unanimously decided the hangar was as good a place as any to stay the night. Korra, Bolin, and Lin pushed the wreckage of the planes into one large lump, blockading the entrance, and Mako and Iroh made a fire, working together seamlessly. There was no food, but the warmth was at least pleasant to sit by. Asami leaned against Korra’s legs, and watched the fire flicker, thinking on her father, her mother, and the life she had led up until this moment. The flames seemed to dance in spite of her woes, and it was strangely comforting; the carelessness of it.    
  
Mako and Bolin had fallen asleep, curled facing each other. They had no problems sleeping on the cold ground: Bolin cheerfully told her that they had done so many times before. Mako, after waiting quietly for a time, had carefully placed his own coat on his brother’s sleeping form, tucking the edges in, before laying back down himself. Lin, watching from across the fire, saw it all, and said nothing, but her eyes were shining in the light.    
  
Iroh had dragged part of a fighter plane seat over to the fire, and was attempting to make a bed out of it, without too much progress. He eventually gave up and laid down on the concrete near to the fire, shrugging and sighing as he did. Lin snorted at that, but tossed him her jacket, which he gratefully caught and bunched up as an impromptu pillow, nodding thankfully at her.    
  
Asami lay with her head in Korra’s lap, drowsily watching the fire, until she blinked awake and realized she’d been sleeping. Everyone else was asleep, and the fire had burned low. She lifted her head, and realized Korra was no longer under her. Instead, the Avatar’s Water Tribe fur had been pleasantly tickling her face, carefully folded up as a replacement. For a moment her heart seized, fearing that she had been left again, but then she sat up straighter,  and her mate’s comforting smell assured her the Avatar was still nearby.    
  
She found Korra sitting in the pilot seat of the one remaining fighter plane, leaning back with her feet on the wheel, staring into the empty ceiling of the hangar. Asami stood for a moment, watching her with her arms akimbo, and then she shifted, deliberately allowing her scent to drift to her mate. Korra’s nostrils lifted, and she smiled, pushing the door to the cabin open with one foot and beckoning Asami in.   
  
The omega climbed the wing and slid inside. It was a tight squeeze: these fighter planes weren’t meant to house two people in the cockpit, but she didn’t mind. Close to Korra was the only place she wanted to be.    
  
Still…    
  
“Don’t you scare me like that again,” she admonished, mildly, as she folded her long legs over the Avatar’s knees. “I don’t like waking up without you.”   
  
Korra had the grace to look chagrined. “I know, and I’m sorry.” She lifted Asami, pulling her more firmly onto her lap. “I just couldn’t sleep and your head got heavy after a while.” The alpha nosed her mate’s neck affectionately. “All those big-brained ideas. Must weigh you down.”   
  
“It’s a challenge.” Asami deadpanned, nodding, before she let her hand curl around her alpha’s strong jaw. “What are you thinking about up here? Amon?”   
  
Korra nodded, and threaded her hands through Asami’s fine black hair. “Everything, really. Him, too. But it’s okay.” She smiled, a wide, genuine Korra smile. “It’s all going to be okay.”   
  
Asami felt her heart lift, impossibly. She smiled back, and teased. “How do you know that? Did you get some kind of great power from your past lives that will save the day?”   
  
Korra shook her head, still smiling. “Nope. I just know. I have a feeling.” She leaned in and brushed her lips against Asami’s pulse, which made the omega clench her hands into sweaty balls. “A good feeling. Like I had about you.”    
  
“Well, you were demonstrably wrong about me,” Asami joked, feeling a sizzling rush through her veins as Korra’s hand traveled down her back, pulling up her jacket to stroke the bare skin beneath. “But it all worked out in the end, so let’s… _ ah _ ….hope for the same result.”   
  
“Mmmhmm.” Korra’s lips were pacing to her collarbone, unhurried, but unceasing in the waves of arousal the action created. “I still don’t think I was wrong about you.” Her fingers slid underneath Asami’s jacket, tracing up her spine and then curling around to her rib cage, just brushing beneath the swell of her breasts. The omega’s breath tightened, and she found herself rocking, just a little, against the Avatar’s lap. Korra inhaled her scent again, drawing deep, and Asami found a stirring feeling in her groin, greeted by the rising of something warm and firm beneath her pelvis’s slow grind.    
  
“I missed you,” she confessed, breathily, and draped her arms around the alpha’s warm neck, feeling the hairs at the nape rise to her touch. “Yesterday…I didn’t get enough of you. Never have.”    
  
“I hope you never do,” Korra told her, and kissed her, deep and sweet. Her hands pushed up, cupping Asami’s breasts, and that did it: the omega couldn’t hold back her moan, giving voice to her need.    
  
There was a fumbling of clasps and a frustrated yanking of fabric, unhurried playfulness giving way to serious arousal. Korra drew her long length from her pants, already wet at the tip and stiffening in her palm, and Asami licked her lips, helping to stroke her to full hardness between their closely-twined bodies. The Avatar was only half undressed but she was already pulling at her mate’s clothes, pulling the omega’s fashionable jodhpurs down below her rounded rear, and the panties followed. That was enough. Korra panted, need and urgency plain in her grasping hands, and positioned Asami back onto her lap, bringing their naked lower halves together in a smooth kiss that wrenched a sigh from both their lips.    
  
“Oh my love,” Asami sighed, using the flat of her palm to guide Korra’s erection against her outer labia, rubbing and bucking herself against the heat of her mate’s cock. “I’ll always need you. The whole world needs you, but I’m the only one that needs you this  _ much _ .”    
  
Korra groaned, fingers curling into the flare of Asami’s hips, as her tip released a trickle of pre-cum against the omega’s glistening, steadily swelling clit. The red open lips of her pussy were inviting the Avatar inside, and Korra didn’t hesitate to accept: she pushed Asami’s hand gently away and lined herself up, easing inside. They both moaned as the alpha began to push steadily in, and Asami felt tears well into the corners of her eyes to feel her mate’s body join with hers once more. Korra wanted to go slow, she could tell, and she could feel her walls stretching with each deliciously slow thrust, but slow was not what she wanted. Not now. Asami wouldn’t have it. She pushed at her alpha’s shoulders and sank down, willing herself to take the whole shaft in a single plunge.    
  
“Oh fuck,” Korra’s fingers dug in, almost painfully, trying to slow her omega down, but Asami shook her head, green eyes flashing threats. She needed this, and she wasn’t about to let Korra set the pace, alpha or not. Besides, a little challenge was usually enough to get her Avatar going.    
  
This time was no exception.    
  
“Gods,  _ Asami _ —“ Korra choked out, and her teeth sank into the mark on her mate’s neck, letting out a growl of assertion as she reclaimed her dominance with a firm thrust. “Greedy,” the alpha rasped out beside her pulse, licking it. “So greedy for me.”   
  
“Yessss,” Asami hissed, and leaned back, her black mane spilling onto the steering wheel of the plane, covering all the instruments in a fine spray of sable. “All yours and you’re all  _ mine _ , yes….ah!”   
  
Korra grunted in agreement, and her back arched over her mate, speeding up her thrusts as she held Asami’s hips in place on her lap. Her hot breath, laced with loving obscenities, panted out over Asami’s ear, and her teeth nudged the mark, constantly keeping the heightened feeling of anticipation on edge. The omega keened and wailed in agreement to feel Korra’s bruising pace, and her sharp nails left little half-moon imprints all up and down the alpha’s sweat-slicked spine. She didn’t care if anyone woke and heard them. All she cared about was the woman she loved, pummeling into her, spilling her wetness, sending shivers of pleasure every time the alpha slapped her clit with the base of her cock.    
  
“Never let you go again,” Korra panted against her neck, and Asami’s whole body shuddered. She clutched tighter as Korra emphasized her words with sharp thrusts. “ _ Never _ , never, never…”   
  
“Love you,” Asami huffed back, barely able to get the words out through the spiking arches of her pleasure as her body began to tighten and pulse. “Loveyouloveyoulove— _ ah _ !”   
  
Her climax took her by the throat, almost in surprise, and she let out a whining moan as her hips slammed back to greet Korra’s increasing, frantic pace. Waves and waves of shivering, intense pleasure swamped her, from spine to sternum. The tears trembling in her eyes spilled down, soaking her cheeks, but the feeling was incandescent, powerful. She reared up and found her mark on Korra’s neck, instinctively, and sunk her teeth in, searing right into the circle her teeth had left.    
  
Korra cried out: a beautiful, gasping sound. Then she lurched forward, burying her teeth in the still-reddened flesh of Asami’s mark, and her whole body rippled. Warm, heavy spurts fountained up inside of Asami, and the omega echoed Korra’s moan to feel it sluice inside of her depths. The overflow cascaded back down, leaving a puddle on their clothes, but neither had the presence of mind to care. Instead, they clung tightly together, not moving, but jerking and sighing softly as the last waves departed.    
  
“Love you,” Asami whispered, again. Her brain had gone to mush and her body was pleasantly sore in all kinds of places, thanks to the awkward position of the cockpit, but she knew one thing was certain, and so repeated it: “Love you, Korra.”   
  
“I love you too,” Korra crushed her closer, and nudged her jaw with a plaintive nose. “And I meant it. I’ll never let you go again.”   
  
“You’d better not,” Asami said into Korra’s ear, tugging sharply on the hairs at the back of her neck. She thought of Amon, and all of the things that could part them, and bit her Avatar’s earlobe fiercely, refusing to allow the fears and doubts access to this sanctum of peace.   
  
“You stay with me,” she told her mate, and wrapped her limbs around Korra, not wanting to let go until the sun came up. Come what may, come what must...there was only one place she belonged. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [ Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterbones87) for updates and teaser snippets.


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